Gaffe-prone Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Monday defended his use of the term "kokutai," which referred to a national polity centering on the Emperor before and during World War II, and said he has no plans to retract it.
"It was not a slip of the tongue," Mori said. "I didn't say I have retracted it. I meant to say national polity and I didn't link it with the old meaning of 'kokutai.' "
However, apparently concerned that his various controversial remarks are distancing him from voters and even some within his Liberal Democratic Party — and with general elections less than three weeks away — Mori apologized for the furor at a meeting at LDP headquarters in the afternoon.
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