Barely two weeks after he was named parliamentary vice minister for defense, Mr. Shingo Nishimura of the Liberal Party was forced to resign Wednesday over outrageous views made public in a Japanese weekly magazine. In a two-hour interview, Mr. Nishimura suggested that the Diet consider discussing whether Japan should arm itself with nuclear weapons. The idea is, of course, an unacceptable departure from the nation's three "nonnuclear principles" of not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons on its soil.
Hours after the magazine appeared on newsstands Tuesday, Mr. Nishimura's remarks had drawn a barrage of criticism. By Wednesday morning, opposition leaders were calling not only for his head, but for Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa "to take responsibility" for naming him to the high-level defense post in the first place.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party also lost no time in trying to contain the damage. The LDP foreign-policy caucus immediately disavowed Mr. Nishimura's remarks and demanded action from the party leadership. Early Wednesday morning, Mr. Obuchi told reporters that "I believe the remarks were inappropriate," with Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki going further and calling them "extremely inappropriate" after meeting with Mr. Nishimura. Before the end of the day, Mr. Nishimura announced his resignation, so as "not to bring trouble to the Obuchi Cabinet." His resignation was accepted immediately, and Mr. Taiichiro Nishikawa, also a member of the Liberal Party, was given the post.