DJ: Aso Says He Has No Plan To Step Down As Finance Minister

TOKYO--Japan's finance minister said Friday that he has no intention of stepping down in response to domestic and international criticism over remarks he made referring to Nazi Germany.

"I have no intention to resign" as finance minister or as a member of parliament, Taro Aso said at a press conference following the morning's Cabinet meeting.

An opposition party has called for Mr. Aso to step down.

While reiterating that the misunderstanding caused by his remarks was regrettable and repeating his retraction of the remarks, he said "I have no intention to apologize."

He said his choice of words led to misinterpretation but he emphasized that he stood by his message of learning from the bad example of Nazi Germany, adding that he believes changes to the constitution need to be discussed in a level-headed manner as he said in his speech on Monday.

Mr. Aso also questioned whether the current constitution is adequate for protecting Japan against contemporary threats, such as North Korea, that have emerged since the end of the Cold War.

He added that he thinks his remarks have now been understood after his statement Thursday emphasizing that he was not trying to justify what the Nazi regime did.

During the speech on Monday, Mr. Aso--who also serves as deputy prime minister and was once prime minister--said Japan should learn how Germany's constitution under the Weimar Republic was transformed by the Nazis before anybody realized what was happening.