Prime Minister Taro Aso made another mistake Sunday regarding kanji, immediately drawing criticism from some opposition lawmakers.
Aso said "shoseki" when he should have said "kizuato" (scars) while reading a speech in Nagasaki about the 1945 atomic bombing.
He was trying to say the bombing has left "scars (on the survivors) that will never be healed."
Kizuato is not a particularly difficult word to read, but Aso apparently read it in the "on-yomi" style, which is based on the ancient Chinese sounds of the characters.
"I don't think it is appropriate to read (the word) in the wrong way on a day of prayer, when everybody in Nagasaki is feeling pain," said Mizuho Fukushima, president of the Social Democratic Party.
Since taking office as prime minister last September, Aso has made numerous kanji mistakes while reading prepared speeches in public.