Still Adoring Hitler?

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Taro Aso, has broadly been known as a careless speaker even in his time of Prime Minister. In a summer seminar of his policy group called Ikokai on Tuesday, Aso criticized former German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, about the consequence of his policy, with a condition that “even if his motivation had been right.” Was the motivation of Hitler right, anyhow? That inappropriateness on his speech raised Aso again to the stage of frivolous politician.

Aso was grilled on his comment about constitutional amendment in 2013. “The people suddenly realized on one day that Weimar Constitution was replaced by Nazis Constitution. It was changed without being noticed by anyone. Why don’t we learn from that method?” told Aso. Criticized of the recommendation of ignorance on public opinion at constitutional amendment, Aso backed off his comment as inappropriate.

He has supposedly been embracing traumatic sentiment on that event. In his lecture to the members of his fraction in Liberal Democratic Party, Aso tried to deny his respect to Hitler. “I don’t care motivation of being a politician. Result matters. Even if the motivation could have been right, Hitler who killed millions of the people was, even if the motivation could have been right, wrong,” said Aso. He reiterated “even if the motivation could have been right” twice. It could be interpreted that he indicated correct motivation in Nazi Holocaust on Jews in the time of World War II.

It was highly embarrassing for the Japanese to have such a Deputy Prime Minister as still looking positive for the most notorious racist dictator in the world or having false knowledge about world history. Aso issued a comment next day, indicating that his example about Hitler was inappropriate and he would withdraw that comment. “It was obvious in the whole context of my speech that I was taking Hitler with extremely negative recognition and it was also obvious that Hitler was wrong in his motivation,” argued the comment. It does not make any sense.

It is the time that a storm of racism blowing in some cities in United States under the administration of unilateralist President Donald Trump. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recognizes U.S. as indispensable ally and those two leaders reconfirmed that they stood by each other against intimidation of North Korea with ballistic missile and nuclear weapon. But, Deputy Prime Minister could have ignited further racism with his careless comment. How will the Americans welcome Aso on his visit to have a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence starting next Monday?