TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso on Wednesday retracted a remark to lawmakers of his faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that could be interpreted as a defense of Adolf Hitler s motive for genocide during World War Two. Tuesday s comment by Aso, who also serves as finance minister, drew criticism from a U.S.-based Jewish group. The incident followed a rare June apology by Japan s central bank over a board member s praise for Hitler s economic policies.  It is clear from my overall remarks that I regard Hitler in extremely negative terms, and it s clear that his motives were also wrong,  Aso said in a statement. Aso said he wanted to stress the importance of delivering results, but not defend Hitler.  It was inappropriate that I cited Hitler as an example and I would like to retract that.  Aso is no stranger to gaffes, having retracted a comment in 2013 about Hitler s rise to power that was interpreted as praising the Nazi regime. Referring at the time to Japan s efforts to revise its constitution, he said the constitution of Weimar Germany had been changed before anyone realized, and asked,  Why don t we learn from that technique?   On Tuesday, Kyodo news agency quoted Aso as saying,  I don t question your motives (to be a politician). But the results are important. Hitler, who killed millions of people, was no good, even if his motives were right.  The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center expressed  distress and disappointment  at Aso s comment.   This is just the latest of a troubling list of   misstatements and are downright dangerous,  the center s head, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, said in a statement on Tuesday.  These words damage Japan s reputation at the very time when all Americans want to show their solidarity with Japan, our sister democracy and ally, following the missile launch from Kim Jong Un s North Korea,  he added. Aso s gaffe came after U.S. President Donald Trump drew sharp criticism for comments that blamed  many sides  for this month s violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.     In June, Bank of Japan board member Yutaka Harada told a seminar Hitler s economic policies had been  appropriate  and  wonderful  but had enabled the Nazi dictator to do  horrible  things. 
Japan's Aso retracts Hitler comment after criticism