Taro Aso, policy chief of the Liberal Democratic Party, apologized Monday for infuriating Koreans during the weekend by claiming they voluntarily adopted Japanese names during World War II.
"My words failed to express my true intentions. I regret my remarks and I would like to frankly apologize to the South Korean people," Aso told a news conference.
Aso drew protests from the South Korean government when he said Saturday that the 1939 decree forcing Korean people to adopt Japanese names "stemmed from Korean requests for surnames."