Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka admitted Tuesday she was careless in revealing a top secret matter regarding the U.S. just hours after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Early Sept. 12, Tanaka told reporters that U.S. State Department officials had evacuated and went on to reveal the location where they had taken shelter -- a facility that could have become the target of another attack.

"It was an emergency situation and various information was going around . . . but I must say (the remark) was careless," Tanaka told reporters.