Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara Apologizes for Calling Quake 'Divine Punishment'

Well, it’s good to see that America isn’t the only place where people say stupid things about tragedies. Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara apologized today for saying that Friday’s massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that devastated the region were “tembatsu” or “divine punishment” for Japanese egoism.

“I will take back (the remark) and offer a deep apology,” Ishihara said at a press conference held today.

On Monday, Ishihara had said, “I think (the disaster) is tembatsu (divine punishment), although I feel sorry for disaster victims,” according to the translation from Kyodo News.

“Japanese politics is tainted with egoism and populism,” Ishihara said. “We need to use tsunami to wipe out egoism, which has rusted onto the mentality of Japanese over a long period of time.”

Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai expressed his displeasure with Ishihara, who will be seeking his fourth term as governor in the upcoming election, telling the press that he hopes the Tokyo governor will pay consideration to disaster victims.

I guess you never really know. The quake could be retribution for those Asian people talking in the library all the time.

Keep up with the latest on our Japan Earthquake 2011 page

Tokyo governor apologises for calling tsunami ‘divine punishment’ (guardian.co.uk)
Ishihara ups ante in quake response (search.japantimes.co.jp)
Japan earthquake: Yukio Edano, the ‘Jack Bauer’ of the crisis (telegraph.co.uk)