Senior members of the opposition parties demanded Friday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi remove farm minister Tsutomu Takebe from office for his recent comment indicating his reluctance to look into the source of mad cow disease.

Takebe reportedly said in a meeting with farmers in Hokkaido that he was not sure whether it is important to clarify how the three cows that tested positive for the disease became infected. He also said that consumers were reacting "emotionally" to the case.

Naoto Kan, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, and three other members of the Social Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Japanese Communist Party lodged the complaint with Deputy Cabinet Secretary Kosei Ueno.

"It is a blundering remark," said DPJ lawmaker Takao Sato. "Consumers and farmers cannot tolerate it."

The four parties said Takebe's remark showed that he lacked both the will and ability to deal with mad cow disease, which was first discovered in Japan in September.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda defended Takebe's remarks, however, saying he made the comment as he was trying to emphasize the importance of ensuring the safety of meat sold to the public.

However, during an informal meeting of his Cabinet on Friday morning, Koizumi instructed his ministers to "refrain from making irregular remarks" over the New Year's holidays.

Fukuda told a news conference later that Koizumi "appeared to be looking in the direction of Takebe" when he spoke.