Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya apologized Monday to Akita Gov. Norihisa Satake for errors in the ministry's geographical survey that was used to select the northeastern prefecture as a candidate for hosting a U.S.-developed missile defense system.
"I deeply apologize. I have instructed (officials) to be thorough in preventing a recurrence," Iwaya told Satake at the prefectural government building.
The apology came a week after the Akita governor criticized the ministry's erroneous survey in connection with the deployment of the land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system, saying, "We are back to square one on this issue."