Yanagisawa has second thoughts about women

Mainichi says Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa has apologized for calling women "birth-giving machines." He now thinks the description was "too uncivil," and has retracted the remarks. Yanagisawa made the gaffe while giving a speech on Japan's declining birthrate on Saturday. His quirky comment was also picked up by the BBC.

Update:

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party, called Sunday for Yanagisawa to step down.

"I demand the resignation of the welfare minister because he made awful remarks that he should have never made," she said. Fukushima is currently the only female leader among the major parties.

She told The Asahi Shimbun that women are not merely machines for producing future sources of revenue for the pension program.

"Yanagisawa's remarks were tantamount to telling women to give birth for the nation," Fukushima said.

Yukio Hatoyama, secretary-general of the main opposition Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan), said the remarks insulted women.

"I feel great anger. (Yanagisawa) should take the blame as welfare minister for failing to create an environment that enables women to give birth and bring up children," Hatoyama said.