Gaffe-prone Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso asks elderly: ‘How long do you plan to live?’
Japan’s finance minister is no stranger to controversy and has a gift for causing offence with remarks
Taro Aso, Japan’s finance minister, has again talked his way into trouble after saying he would like to ask elderly people just how long they intend to go on living.
Aso, who also serves as deputy prime minister, was speaking at a meeting of members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Hokkaido on Friday, when he made the off-the-cuff remarks.
It is extremely disheartening that someone who cannot understand the public’s concerns about nursing care is serving as finance minister
“I heard someone on TV saying something totally ridiculous, like ‘I’m worried about how I’m going to carry on after I turn 90 years old’ and I wanted to ask that person: ‘Just how long do you plan on living?’” Aso said.
Aso went on to criticise anyone not helping the economy by spending money.
“If you don’t spend the money you have, that money will mean nothing,” Aso insisted. “What is the point in just accumulating more wealth?”
The opposition was quick to jump on 75-year-old Aso’s latest unguarded comment. Katsuya Okawa, the head of the Democratic Party, said the remarks were “an insult to the nation’s elderly”.
“It is extremely disheartening that someone who cannot understand the public’s concerns about nursing care is serving as finance minister,” he said.