Official takes back remark about Hitler

Japan’s deputy prime minister has retracted a comment that seemed to suggest that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had good intentions.

Taro Aso was speaking at a seminar for his faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday when he said: “I don’t question a politician’s motives; it is delivering results that matter. Hitler, who killed millions of people, was no good, even if his intentions had been good.”

Mr Aso said that remark was “inappropriate” and he would like to retract it and regretted having caused a misunderstanding. He said he meant that Hitler was a bad leader with bad intentions.