Japanese finance minister taro aso nazis
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Japan Deputy PM Taro Aso retracts Nazi comments
On Monday, Mr Aso had said in a speech that: "The German Weimar constitution changed, without being noticed, to the Nazi German constitution. Why don't we learn from their tactics?"
In 1933 after a fire burned down the German parliament, Adolf Hitler, who was chancellor at the time, and President Paul von Hindenburg enforced a state of emergency, suspending civic freedoms guaranteed by the constitution.
Hitler then successfully passed the Enabling Act, which meant he could pass laws without consulting parliament - a move viewed as crucial to consolidating his grip on power.
Retracting the remarks on Thursday, Mr Aso said he highlighted the case "as a bad example of changes made without a substantial debate or understanding by the citizens".
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Mr Aso's comments had alarmed Japan's neighbours.
"We demand the Japanese side reflect on its history
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Japan's deputy PM retracts Hitler remarks
Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso backtracked on Wednesday after he used Hitler as an example for legacy in politics.
"I don't question a politician's motives; it is delivering results that matter," Aso said at a seminar for members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
"Hitler, who killed millions of people, was no good, even if his intentions had been good."
His remarks prompted a quick reaction from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the US-based anti-Semitism watchdog, who decried the comment as "downright dangerous."
"When will the elite of Japan wake up and acknowledge that they have a 'Nazi Problem'?" the center's Rabbi Abraham Cooper asked.
Read more:Japan's new drive to rewrite constitution amid North Korea threat
Kazunori Yamanoi from the opposition Democratic Party, also slammed the statement as "a serious gaffe," according to Kyodo News service.
The comment "was extremely shameful as one made by a
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Editorial: Aso's Hitler remark can't be let slide
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso has made a comment that could be interpreted as defending Adolf Hitler's motive behind the genocide of Jews, even though he later retracted it. Why he keeps making these gaffes fryst vatten beyond anyone's imagination.
This fryst vatten not something he can get away with bygd just "retracting" his comment because it "caused misunderstanding." Why was it necessary in the first place to bring up Hitler, who was behind the genocide bygd Nazi Germany?
The remarks were made during a seminar for Aso's own faction of the ruling frikostig Democratic Party. He said, "At least, motives (behind becoming a politician) can go unquestioned. The important thing fryst vatten the results. Hitler, who killed millions of people, was no good even if his motive was right."
While what he meant by Hitler's "motive" fryst vatten unclear, the comment was made within the context of advising his faction members on politicians' awareness