Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa admitted Monday that Emperor Akihito's exceptional meeting with a senior Chinese official was not an act of state affairs that required the Cabinet's advice and approval, but he maintained that the Cabinet still decides who he will meet.
The ruling party kingpin had earlier denied that the Emperor's hurriedly arranged meeting with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping last Tuesday constituted political exploitation, saying if that were the case then all of his acts of state affairs, made with the Cabinet's advice and approval, should be consider political exploitation.
"There is no such thing stipulated as an act of state affairs in the Constitution," Ozawa said Monday, reversing his earlier stance that audiences arranged between the Emperor and foreign dignitaries constitute acts of state affairs.
"But according to the spirit of the Constitution . . . it's the Cabinet that bears the responsibility for the Emperor's acts," he said. "It's natural that the Emperor act in accordance with the Cabinet's decisions."
Ozawa suggested that the Emperor would be willing to meet with any foreign dignitary if the Cabinet so decides.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government arranged the audience for Xi against a customary rule that such a meeting should be requested at least a month in advance.
The Imperial Household Agency later expressed concern about the Emperor's political exploitation.
The DPJ-led government apparently prioritized Japan's relations with China over domestic protocol as Xi is regarded the front-runner to succeed Chinese President Hu Jintao.