Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori apologized before the Diet on Wednesday for having invited a barrage of criticism by saying earlier this week that Japan is a "divine nation centering on the Emperor," but he refused to retract the remark.
"If (my remark) caused misunderstanding, it is regrettable and I would like to apologize," Mori told the Upper House plenary session, which had halted for two hours due to the row over his remark.
He said he never meant to say the Emperor is a god, stressing that the monarch is the symbol of the nation as stipulated in the Constitution.