Aso retracts remarks on doctors 'lacking common sense'

Friday 21st November, 05:00 AM JST

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TokyoVP at 09:28 PM JST - 20th November

And at the Imperial Hotel Bar tonight:

Aso: Bartender, another scotch!

Bartender: Yes, boss...right away!

Aso: The nagging press, nantonaku!

Meanwhile at the Prime Minister's Residence:

Where the heck is he...???
nutsagain at 09:34 PM JST - 20th November

smithinjapan: You're posts are ones that I read and usually take seriously but I think you're wide of the mark this time. Alternatives to Aso? Don't let me stop you... do go on with some names?

Aso is hardly a favorite of mine either but as I've repeatedly said; he does have opinions and is unafraid to express them be they at variance to my own. Besides, this is a bloody storm-in-a-teacup if ever there was. I'm also convinced he's not that far wrong on this issue and reflects what the majority of people think about the current state of medicine in modern Japan.
bamboohat at 09:41 PM JST - 20th November

Aso responded, ‘‘My remarks seem to have caused misunderstanding and were inappropriate. I am sorry

He doesn't contradict what he said, he just said people misunderstood him and he shouldn't have said. He didn't say he was wrong. If somebody said something offensive to me or about me and apologized in this manner, I wouldn't accept it.

Now if he were a stand up guy, he'd say something like this:

I made some remarks about doctors that were based on my own misunderstanding of the nature of their jobs. I realize that, not being a doctor myself, I can never fully understand the capacity in which they are required to work on a daily basis. My comments were shortsighted, inappropriate, and incorrect. Please accept my apologies.(bow).

But because he's NOT a stand up guy, his sentence has about twenty miles of irresponsible vagueness between "my comments" and "I'm sorry".
burikko at 10:02 PM JST - 20th November

What Aso has done during these 3 months are the increasing of social unrest and the decreasing of economy. But, he is wishing to offer us some cheap comedies as compensation.
norinrad21 at 10:02 PM JST - 20th November

The coward
romulus3 at 10:03 PM JST - 20th November

he must have read my comment on the rough prostate exam that waited him. Maybe I should run for office. Vote Romulus. I will bring doctors from India, Alchemists from Egypt, And ladyboy nurses from Thailand.
Betting at 10:29 PM JST - 20th November

Japanese tend to flog the, "...caused misunerstanding" excuse to the hilt. I wonder what causes them to do this?
smithinjapan at 12:46 AM JST - 21st November

kinniku: In part I was just picking on you for the last post, but as you feel the need to stand behind Aso for whatever reason, I still stand behind my remarks as to why he's unfit to lead. I am not defending bad parenting and/or bad hospital management at all in my remarks on Aso, but pointing out his extreme lack of sound judgement and pointing out to those on here who think Aso is a 'blunt talker who says the truth' that he seems to always back track a lot for a guy who supposedly hits the nail on the head. Again, if he's correct, why does he retract his statements? What's more, I'm only using these examples to provide the LATEST proof of his inability to speak; I could point out all sorts of other examples of sexism, racism, and other examples of how inept the man is and out of tune with his fellow country-people. I'm sorry if I went overboard when picking on you -- I am! -- but you're standing up for an utter twit who keeps choking on the silver spoon in his mouth.

Nutsagain: Sorry to disappoint, truly. I have said that I agree with you there is not much on choices, but the man is seriously inept. I remember before he was given the go-ahead by the LDP with a majority vote that there were one or two others vying for the position in the party, including one female, who showed quite a lot more promise than Aso (sorry... I honestly don't remember the names and it's too late at night to bother searching. If I heard them I would know... I think one was a former professor or something; but again as I said before, in the Old Boy's club Aso was like the Naoto Kan of the Min-shuu-tou... bound to get in there sooner or later because he's 'done his time'. No, Ozawa is not at all a good alternative, and it's a damn sad state of affairs that the alternative is simply more of the same, but within the LDP itself there are others better qualified.

Finally, I'll say to you what I said to Kinniku... my ridiculing Aso for opening his trap and then BACKTRACKING and RETRACTING points out his own lack of convictions, and his inability to stand behind his word. THAT is, for the most part, what I was pointing out and making fun of. That does not mean I therefore agree with hospitals turning away patients, or the idea that some parents definitely need to take more responsibility for their children.
medievaltimes at 01:02 AM JST - 21st November

My remarks seem to have caused misunderstanding and were inappropriate.

And here we go again. Another run of the mill "caused misunderstanding" excuse.

Next will be...

It is regrettable.

I'm sorry for causing confusion.
zaichik at 04:43 AM JST - 21st November

‘‘It is a shame if the remarks caused misunderstanding for those doctors who are working hard on site.’’

Yet another translator fails to find an elegant translation for "genba". Not saying I could do any better - "in the field" or "on the front line" would be my best attempt in this context, neither of which are entirely satisfactory.

There'S nothing wrong with a PM having opinions with which people disagree - you'll never get the whole country to agree all of the time. However, Aso should have been aware that his remarks would cause umbrage among doctors, so why would he need to retract his commnets? Unless, of course, it's just that he let his mouth run away with him, in which case, he's not ideal PM material.
LIBERTAS at 06:28 AM JST - 21st November

Foot + Mouth = Aso. Questions? Didn't think so!
Sarge at 06:56 AM JST - 21st November

Aso has no need to apologize. He's right. Some doctors do lack common sense. I've met one such doctor in Japan myself, and I haven't met too many doctors. I wouldn't let that doctor stick a tongue depressor in my mouth, much less let him cut me open.
cleo at 09:30 AM JST - 21st November

Yet another translator fails to find an elegant translation for "genba".

It's encouraging to know I'm not the only one who pulls her hair out over these simple little phrases. Doctors working hard on site? Doling out medical care to the navvies? :-)

The 'news' programmes this morning were having a field day pulling Aso to bits. One commentator even compared him to Mori in his final days. I thought that was cruel. Apt, but cruel.
kinniku at 08:52 PM JST - 21st November

smithinjapan,

In part I was just picking on you for the last post, but as you feel the need to stand behind Aso for whatever reason, I still stand behind my remarks as to why he's unfit to lead.

Again, I repeat: I am not defending "Aso", I am defending what he said. I agree with what he said and even in his supposed apology he did not actually retract what he said. He merely said he was sorry he hurt people's feelings. I don't much like Aso for the most part and I would not have voted for him if we were able to vote directly for the PM. My feeling has always been that it is sad that these people are chosen and we basically have nothing to do with it. It is almost like the citizens don't matter. However, the reality is that Aso is PM and although I don't like him, I thought it was about time someone in the government actually took notice of the problems both with parenting and the medical community. He should not retract his words and I don't think he has yet. Hey, if this sinks him, hopefully someone better will replace him, but I seriously doubt it...

I am not defending bad parenting and/or bad hospital management at all in my remarks on Aso, but pointing out his extreme lack of sound judgement and pointing out to those on here who think Aso is a 'blunt talker who says the truth' that he seems to always back track a lot for a guy who supposedly hits the nail on the head.

I do not believe he actually "back-track", unless I am mistaken, he just apologized. However, I will agree that he should have been told about who would be at the PTA meeting or that it even was a PTA meeting. I would have assumed the prime minister would have people keeping him up to date with his schedule. However what he said was true in both cases. In this two cases he did hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, the focus has been taken away from those heads and has been put on the talking heads instead. So, in the end, nothing will be talked about regarding medical care reform or family issues...

Again, if he's correct, why does he retract his statements?

He is a politician...that is what they do...I never said otherwise. Again, you seem to be assuming I am some kind of Aso supporter. You are barking up the wrong tree with that. However, he didn't actually retract them as someone above points out. In the Japanese language, he just said he was sorry and that there were many good doctors sticking it out in hospitals...blah, blah,blah...He did not say what he originally said was wrong and that he regreted saying it that I know of...I haven't checked the news for a bit though.

What's more, I'm only using these examples to provide the LATEST proof of his inability to speak; I could point out all sorts of other examples of sexism, racism, and other examples of how inept the man is and out of tune with his fellow country-people. I'm sorry if I went overboard when picking on you -- I am! -- but you're standing up for an utter twit who keeps choking on the silver spoon in his mouth.

I appreciate the apology...kinda...however, I don't really like the man generally and as I have written before, I agree with your other sentiments about the man. I just think in these two cases, what he said rings true. He definitely could have thought of better ways of saying what he said or of tempering them. However, it doesn't change the fact that he was right. Having said that, I could not care less if he left office tomorrow...He has said racist things and I found his behaviour at recent press conferences where he berated female reporters appalling...I just thought it was about time one PM actually said at least one thing that made sense. To me, he said two...If you want to berate me further for that, it is your choice...However this country needs fixing and it needs some of these 'silver spoon fed' people to actually do something to fix it or at least say something that shows they actually know a problem exists.

To finish...I repeat...I am not defending Aso. I don't care about him...I care about an increasing number of people in management positions in the medical communities in the big cities that seem to be failing their citizens and an increasing number of parents that seem to have forgotten what parenting is all about...The political system here needs
kinniku at 08:56 PM JST - 21st November

sorry...the political system needs an overhaul. We should be able to choose our own prime minister directly...I hate the idea that citizens have no real say in this process.