New education minister Masahiko Shibayama's work in Japan's latest Cabinet got off to a rocky start.
In an interview with media outlets Thursday, Shibayama sought to play down the controversy he stirred up last week when he expressed support for basing teaching on the prewar Imperial Rescript on Education — often criticized as promoting a militarist education that emphasizes reverence for the nation's emperor.
"I never said that the Imperial Rescript on Education should be used as teaching material," said the new education minister, also a close aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in the interview, scheduled in the wake of the Cabinet reshuffle. Shibayama added that he is ready to perform his duties, including providing more assistance to foreign pupils in need of Japanese language education.