Japanese Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma resigned on Tuesday after sparking outrage with remarks seen as justifying the World War II atomic bombings of Japan that killed more than 200,000 people.
The outspoken minister angered atomic bomb survivors over the weekend by saying the 1945 nuclear attacks on his country by the United States “couldn’t be helped”. His comments triggered a fierce political row in Japan, the only country to have been attacked with nuclear weapons, adding to the troubles of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe just weeks ahead of his first major election test.
Abe had stood by Kyuma, who said it was his own decision to stand down. “My careless remarks should not affect the upcoming election which Prime Minister Abe is working hard for,” the 66-year veteran politician told reporters.
Abe is battling to avoid a heavy defeat in the July 29 upper house elections, with one weekend newspaper poll showing support for his cabinet at an all-time low of 28 per cent.
“Kyuma’s resignation may reduce pressure from the opposition on the subject, but it's not going to help raise support for Abe at all," said Yoshikazu Sakamoto, an honorary professor of politics at the University of Tokyo.
"The tough situation facing Abe has not changed ahead of the election," Sakamoto said.
Abe moved quickly to try to draw a line under the row, appointing his national security advisor Yuriko Koike to replace Kyuma.
The hawkish premier's popularity has been shaken by a series of scandals and gaffes by his ministers, including Kyuma, who courted controversy once already in January when he said the US decision to invade Iraq was a mistake. Kyuma, who represents Nagasaki in parliament, on Sunday apologised for his remarks, which were denounced by ruling party and opposition lawmakers as well as victims of the attacks.
But his apology failed to assuage atomic bomb survivors, who fear his comments have undermined their campaign to abolish nuclear weapons.
Kyuma "is not qualified for defence minister," Terumi Tanaka, the head of a Japanese atomic bomb survivors' association, said in a statement.
Opposition and ruling coalition lawmakers also welcomed the resignation of Kyuma, who became Japan's first defence minister since World War II in January after Abe's government upgraded the defence agency to a Cabinet-level ministry.
Yukio Hatoyama, the secretary general of the largest opposition Democratic Party, said Kyuma's decision was unavoidable.
"He should have resigned soon after he made the remarks," added Hatoyama.
On August 9, 1945 a US nuclear bomb codenamed "Fat Man" after British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill killed more than 70,000 people in Nagasaki.
The bomb was even larger than "Little Boy," which was dropped three days earlier on Hiroshima, killing some 140,000 people. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II.

Kyuma's replacement is a close aide of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. She has worked on creating a Japanese version of the US National Security Council and was formerly environment minister under then premier Junichiro Koizumi.

"Ms. Koike is an expert on the Middle Eastern affairs and knowledgeable on national security issues," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki.

"As the national security advisor, she has supported the prime minister in such policy matters while expanding and deepening relations with her counterparts from other countries," he told reporters.