Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka apologized Wednesday to bureaucrats in her ministry, saying some of her comments during Tuesday's session of the Lower House Budget Committee may have been "misunderstood."
Tanaka said she refused to answer questions on the U.S. missile defense plan not because she hadn't been briefed by ministry officials but because she wanted a fuller report on last week's talks between Japan and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
"I have received explanations from ministry officials about the missile defense plan as a whole, but I have not received anything on the gist of the talks between U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Armitage and the Foreign Ministry," Tanaka said.