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(回答先: 久間大臣の辞任について 被爆国の地位 明らかに軽視（ニューヨーク・タイムズ紙） 投稿者 gataro 日時 2007 年 7 月 05 日 13:25:36)
「しんぶん赤旗」が紹介した個所を濃青太字で表記してある。以下は http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/world/asia/04japan.html からの転載。
Japan Defense Chief Resigns Over Bomb Remark
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: July 4, 2007
TOKYO, July 3 — Four weeks before a crucial parliamentary election that could decide Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s political fate, his gaffe-prone defense minister was forced to resign Tuesday after making comments apparently justifying the United States’ use of atomic bombs against Japan during World War II.
Mr. Abe, who a day earlier had said that he would retain the minister, Fumio Kyuma, immediately accepted his resignation, in a clear attempt to quell the uproar before the July 29 election. The latest trouble came at the worst possible moment for Mr. Abe, who had extended the parliamentary session in a bid to dampen public anger over previous scandals, and who, over the weekend, recorded his lowest approval ratings since taking office in September.
Mr. Abe said he was responsible for Mr. Kyuma’s appointment and added, “It’s regrettable it had this result.”
Mr. Kyuma, 66, whose job had seemed secure as late as Tuesday morning, resigned in the afternoon, saying he did not want to be a drag on his party in the election and acknowledging that he may have “already had a negative effect.”
Within hours, Yuriko Koike, 54, the prime minister’s national security adviser and a former environment minister, was appointed as the new defense minister.
In a public appearance on Saturday — the unofficial start of the campaign for the election — Mr. Kyuma said that dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 “ended the war,” adding, “I think that it couldn’t be helped.”
Otherwise, Mr. Kyuma said, the war would have dragged on and the Soviet Union would have ended up occupying northern Japan.
The comments by Mr. Kyuma, who represents Nagasaki in the lower house of Parliament, caused anger by apparently treating lightly Japan’s status as the only country ever attacked with nuclear weapons. Although the debate over the use of nuclear arms is not the taboo it once was, Japan’s self-image as a special victim of World War II remains deeply rooted, even as revisionist politicians like Mr. Abe have tried to minimize Japan’s militarist past.
On Sunday, Mr. Kyuma defended his remarks and received Mr. Abe’s backing. On Monday, he apologized and was warned by Mr. Abe.
But the furor did not die down on Tuesday, with calls for his resignation not only from the opposition, but also from the Liberal Democrats’ coalition partner, the New Komeito Party.
“From the point of view of someone fighting an election, it’s like being shot in the back,” said Yoichi Masuzoe, a Liberal Democrat leader in the upper house of Parliament.
After a strong start, Mr. Abe has declined steadily in popularity because of a series of scandals and perceived poor leadership, registering around 30 percent in recent polls.
A loss by Mr. Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party this month in the upper house would not directly mean that Mr. Abe would have to step down, because the Liberal Democrat-controlled lower house chooses the prime minister. But a big loss would put pressure on him to step aside for a more popular party leader, who would then become prime minister.
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