Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said Thursday that he will defy calls for him to withdraw a controversial remark that Japan is a divine country centering on the Emperor at a press conference scheduled for this afternoon.

"As I have said before, I have no intention of doing so," Mori told reporters at his official residence when asked if he will retract the remark during the news conference.

Opposition parties and some members of his own ruling coalition are calling on Mori to retract the remark, which critics say echoes the nationalistic fervor behind Japan's wartime aggression.