TOKYO, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Japanese Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda Friday played down Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Thursday expression of support for President George W. Bush.
Asked about Senator John Kerry's lead in U.S. opinion polls, Koizumi had said, "I am familiar with President Bush and want him to carry on," although he did add that he did not want to interfere in a foreign country's election process.
Yoshio Hachiro of Japan's largest opposition party, the Democratic Party, said that Koizumi's remarks were unacceptable. The Asahi Shimbun Friday quoted a top Foreign Ministry diplomat as saying that Koizumi should not have made such a remark.
Hosoda, the government's top spokesman, excused his boss by saying, "I think it was just a cheer for Mr. Bush, with whom Koizumi has formed an amicable relationship."
