Official Apologizes for Korea Remark

A Japanese government spokesman apologized for insulting Koreans, the latest in a string of verbal blunders by Japanese leaders over the past few years. Seiroku Kajiyama, Japan’s chief government spokesman, had predicted that hostilities between North and South Korea would set off street violence between rival Korean factions in Japan. South Koreans said the comment reinforced a mistaken image of Koreans who live in Japan as thugs and gang members. Kajiyama called the South Korean ambassador in Tokyo to acknowledge that the remarks were “inappropriate,” a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.