TOKYO -- Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori apologized Wednesday for saying Japan is a "divine nation" but dismissed opposition demands that he step down over the crisis that has embroiled his 1-month-old administration.
Mori said he was sorry only for causing a misunderstanding and defended his comments as emphasizing the importance of education and respect for life amid rising juvenile crime."If my statement has created misunderstandings, I apologize," Mori said in the upper house of Parliament.
For many, Mori's remark Monday night evoked memories of an imperial Japan that invaded Asia in the name of an emperor-god and sent its youngsters to die in "kamikaze," or "divine wind," suicide missions during World War II.
"We hope the Japanese people acknowledge that Japan is a divine nation centering on the emperor," Mori said at a gathering in Tokyo of lawmakers and leaders of Japan's native Shinto religion.
That prompted protest from abroad and opposition legislators at home to demand his resignation. The Democrats, the biggest opposition party, were considering submitting a no-confidence vote in Parliament.
"His remarks are utter nonsense," said Democratic legislator Yasuko Takemura. "He should resign."
Mori -- who took office after former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi fell into a fatal coma on April 2 -- has no intention of doing that, his spokesman Kazuhiko Koshikawa said Wednesday.
The Shinto religion states that the emperor descended from the gods. After Japan's defeat in World War II, the emperor declared himself human and was made a symbol of the nation without any political powers.
"The remarks show that today's Japan has not basically changed at all since its imperialistic days in the past," the South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh Shinmun said in an editorial Wednesday.
The liberal Asahi newspaper raised questions about Mori's competence, warning that matters were "serious and critical."
The controversy could mean trouble for Japan's Liberal Democratic Party. With a general election expected as early as June 25, the ruling coalition can't afford to lose voter support.
"It's an incredible gaffe," said Junichi Kyogoku, honorary professor of politics at Tokyo University. "Some politicians are so provincial, without any global vision."
Mori has a reputation for being blunt. The burly politician has gotten in trouble before with remarks comparing AIDS patients to unwelcome guests and saying the southern island of Okinawa was controlled by communists.
Meanwhile, Mori filed a libel lawsuit in Tokyo District Court on Wednesday against Uwasa no Shinso, or Truth Behind the Rumor, a monthly magazine that published an article alleging Mori had been apprehended in a 1958 police crackdown on brothels.
Mori, who has denied the account, demanded a public apology and $91,000 in damages, Koshikawa said. Uwasa no Shinso managing editor Yasunori Okadome said the magazine stood behind its story.
"He's thoughtless," said 53-year-old construction worker Tateo Sasaki. "He's a public figure -- the prime minister, not just anybody."