Newly appointed Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Friday sought to differentiate himself from his more famous father, who is known for issuing the Kono statement — the government’s historic 1993 apology to the mostly Asian “comfort women” coerced into providing sex for the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II.
"I am completely different from my father in terms of personality and ways of thinking," Kono said at a ceremony commemorating the beginning of his duties at the ministry.
"I will put my heart and soul into improving Japan's national interests," he added.