Foreign Minister Taro Aso, who has no problem offending Koreans and Chinese on a regular basis, apparently doesn’t like to offend Muslims.
Aso criticized some European publications Monday for printing contentious cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, calling such action “shallow.”
“Even people like us who are not Muslims know the fact that idolatry is absolutely impossible (in Islam),” Aso told a Diet committee. “If someone familiar with that kind of thing did so, I say, from my personal feelings, it could have been shallow.”
Now I’m imagining the Saturday Night Live version of Chris Matthews interviewing Aso on “Hardball.”
MATTHEWS: This is great! Say something even more contradictory!
ASO: The U.S. government should stop glorifying war by building monuments to dead soldiers.
MATTHEWS: Keep it coming!
ASO: Asia should open up its markets to Japanese rice exports.
MATTHEWS: Wow! You’re unstoppable!
ASO: And the UK should give up its royal family…
MATTHEWS: (head explodes)
Ah, if only he weren’t #6 in the post-Koizumi opinion polling, he would make one hilarious Prime Minister.
Sounds like it may be a nod to the Iranians. To add to your “If only” closer, if only the Chinese and Koreans had large oil fields up for sale…
Quite possible. I was considering that, but I guess it was almost too perfect an explanation…
Well, let’s not be too hasty in ruling out the explanation that Aso can just be an unpredictable, contradictory foot-in-mouther.