TOKYO: Japan's gaffe-prone prime minister is in trouble again — this time for a remark criticizing the elderly as a tax burden for racking up medical expenses.

"They're hobbling around and constantly going to the doctor," Prime Minister Taro Aso was quoted as saying in a transcript of a Nov. 20 meeting of ministers on economic policies.

Aso also said the elderly should be faulted for not exercising enough.

"I am paying taxes. Why should I pay money for those who lazily drink and eat and do nothing?" he said.

The transcript was released overnight, drawing immediate criticism in the Japanese media and forcing an apology from the prime minister Thursday.
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"I apologize if the remarks offended people who are suffering illnesses," Aso said on nationally televised news.

He told reporters that he intended to talk about the value of preventive medicine and merely highlight the gap between people who take care of their health and those who don't.

Aso's comments came during a discussion of the social welfare system — topics of great concern for Japan, a rapidly aging nation where growing medical and pension expenses are critical issues. His ruling Liberal Democratic Party has come under fire for mishandling millions of pension records and changing the nation's medical plan for the elderly, as well as for a number of corruption scandals.

Opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama lambasted Aso, saying his comments undermined Japan's health system.

"I can't help but wonder whether such a person is really fit to be prime minister," Hatoyama said

Aso's comments are likely to erode his already sagging popularity.

He has already had to apologize for joking about people with Alzheimer's disease, saying the ideal country would be one that attracts "the richest Jewish people," and comparing the opposition Democratic Party of Japan to the Nazis.

As foreign minister, Aso raised ire in Asia by reportedly crediting Japan's brutal colonial rule before World War II as raising Taiwan's literacy and educational levels, hinting his nation had done Taiwan a favor.

Government spokesman Takeo Kawamura played down Aso's latest remark, shrugging it off as a harmless reflection of his personality. Aso has a reputation for being blunt, but supporters prefer to see him as open and flamboyant.

"There are likely to be more such remarks," he told reporters. "That's part of his charm."

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's gaffe-prone prime minister, Taro Aso, has criticised ailing elderly people for not staying healthy, a comment that could further damage his flagging support in the world's most rapidly ageing country.

In the space of a couple of weeks, 68-year-old Aso has offended doctors and parents of small children and upset various factions in his own party, in a string of verbal blunders that have left some analysts wondering about his grip on power.

Commenting on Japan's ballooning medical expenses, the Aso told the government's top economic advisory panel that he tried to stay healthy by taking a daily walk, and questioned why his tax payments should go to fund medical care for others who were more lax.

"Going to class reunions at the age of 67 or 68, I see feeble old people who go to the doctor's a lot," Aso told the panel, minutes of the November 20 meeting showed.

"My medical expenses are a lot lower because I walk and so on," said Aso, who comes from a wealthy family. "Why should I have to pay for those who just eat and drink and make no effort?"

Aso, 68, added that incentives should be introduced for those who maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Aso's top aide, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, told a news conference on Thursday that the prime minister had wanted to stress a need for self-help efforts to maintain health and had not intended to criticise sick people or Japan's medical system.

Kawamura, however, added: "If his comments hurt any feelings, maybe they were insufficient. But I would like to say that was not his intention."

Asked how he feels about being asked repeatedly to explain Aso's comments in recent weeks, Kawamura gave a bitter smile and said: "It would be better if I did not have to explain them.

"But it's part of his character and there may be various comments from now on, and it is my job to make efforts to let everyone understand his real intention."

Just over a week ago, Aso was forced to apologise after accusing doctors, an important political interest group, of lacking common sense. Last year he was criticised for joking about Alzheimer's disease.

Aso had been expected to call a snap election after taking office in September following the sudden resignation of his predecessor, Yasuo Fukuda.

But the fallout from the world financial crisis and his party's weak performance in opinion polls have delayed the poll.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds and Yoko Nishikawa)


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