
Foreign Minister Taro Aso caused a stir Wednesday by commenting in a speech on a Middle East peace initiative that "blue eyed, blond" Westerners would be "no good." Speaking during a lecture in Nagasaki Prefecture, Aso referred to a Japanese peace initiative, saying, "Japan is doing what the Americans can't do. You can trust Japanese. It would probably be no good to have blue eyes and blond hair." The minister added, "Fortunately, we have yellow faces. We have never at all been involved in exploitation there (in the Middle East) or been involved in fights or fired machine guns. Aso's comments related to projects in the Jordan Valley connected with a Japanese peace initiative...more...