The following is the full text of a prepared statement by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto for a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday on his views about "comfort women."
Today, I want to start by talking about my basic ideals as a politician and my values as a human being.
Nothing is more regrettable than a series of media reports on my remarks with regard to the issue of so-called "comfort women." These reports have created an image of me, both as a politician and as a human being, which is totally contrary to my real ideals and values. This has happened because only a portion of each of my remarks has been reported, cut off from the whole context.