Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda on Thursday became the latest politician to come under fire for allegedly making discriminatory remarks toward women.
The latest issue of the weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun carries what is described as an off-the-record talk with reporters on June 27 in which Fukuda appeared to defend a gang rape allegedly perpetrated by Tokyo college students.
Fukuda is quoted as saying that given young women's provocative style of dress, "there is room for leniency" for rapists as men are "black panthers."