Prime Minister Shinzo Abe admitted Thursday that allowing people with dual citizenship to become state ministers and high-ranking government officials was a problem and that the issue should be further probed.
Responding to a question from fellow Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Haruko Arimura during an Upper House budget committee session, Abe said, "Not only diplomats, but foreign ministers, vice foreign ministers and their advisers could also find themselves having to tackle diplomatic negotiations."
"It's the prime minister's job to put the right person in the right position, but even the prime minister undertakes summit diplomacy" and could be open to conflict of interest if they held two passports, he added.