The opposition camp made full use of its latest ammunition against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori -- his decision to keep playing golf Saturday despite learning about a collision between a Japanese vessel and a U.S. submarine -- during Tuesday's House of Representatives Budget Committee deliberations.
Government officials meanwhile claimed Tuesday that Mori continued his game at a Yokohama golf course because his secretary told him to stay on the links.
"The prime minister was told (by his secretary) to stay where he was" so that messages regarding the accident could be swiftly delivered to him, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kosei Ueno told a regular news conference.