TOKYO, June 5 (UPI) -- A lawmaker in Japan reportedly described an 11-year-old girl's fatal stabbing of a classmate as "an increase in the number of women brimming with energy."
The statement by Kiichi Inoue, minister in charge of disaster prevention, was made at a news conference, the Japan Times reported Saturday.
"This is probably the first such case perpetrated by a girl, isn't it?" Inoue had said. "I guess the differences between men and women have been narrowing in recent years."
Later, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said he cautioned Inoue his statements were "likely to produce misunderstanding." He said Inoue told him he was sorry for causing trouble.
In the stabbing incident in Nagasaki, the girl told police she stabbed the 12-year-old classmate last week because of messages the victim allegedly had posted on the bulletin board of her Web site.
