One of Japan's most senior MPs has insulted tens of millions of voters by suggesting the elderly are an unnecessary drain!
Taro Aso, finance minister and former PM, said the elderly should be allowed to "hurry up and die" to relieve pressure on the state to pay for their medical care!
Aso's comments have caused offence in Japan, where almost a quarter of the 128 million population is aged over 60. That'll hit 40% over the next 50yrs...the 72yr.old is already in that number.
To compound the insult, he referred to elderly patients no longer able to feed themselves as "tube people".And this ain't the first time Aso has questioned Japan's duty towards its elderly. In 2008, while PM, he described "doddering" pensioners as tax burdens who should take better care of their health : "Why should I have to pay for people who just eat and drink and make no effort?"
He angered the country's doctors by telling them they lacked common sense, made a joke about Alzheimer's patients, and pronounced "penniless young men" unfit for marriage. In 2001, he said he wanted Japan to become the kind of successful country in which "the richest Jews would want to live". He once likened an opposition party to the Nazis, praised Japan's colonial rule in Taiwan and, as foreign minister, told US diplomats they would never be trusted in Middle East peace negotiations because they have "blue eyes and blonde hair".
While figures show a record 2.14m Japanese on welfare (Oct.2012), Aso has led a life of privilege few of his compatriots could match. He's the grandson of an influential postwar PM, is married to the daughter of another former premier, and has ties to
the Japanese royals.
While campaigning for the premiership in 2008, Aso denied that his family's coal mine, Aso Mining, forced 300 Allied POWs into work in 1945 without pay. In addition, 10,000 Korean conscripts worked in the mine between 1939-45 under severe, brutal conditions in which many of them died or were injured while receiving little pay.
Hmmm...methinx Aso is pronounced like "asshole"!!
Taro Aso, finance minister and former PM, said the elderly should be allowed to "hurry up and die" to relieve pressure on the state to pay for their medical care!
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| Taro Asshole-san |
To compound the insult, he referred to elderly patients no longer able to feed themselves as "tube people".And this ain't the first time Aso has questioned Japan's duty towards its elderly. In 2008, while PM, he described "doddering" pensioners as tax burdens who should take better care of their health : "Why should I have to pay for people who just eat and drink and make no effort?"
He angered the country's doctors by telling them they lacked common sense, made a joke about Alzheimer's patients, and pronounced "penniless young men" unfit for marriage. In 2001, he said he wanted Japan to become the kind of successful country in which "the richest Jews would want to live". He once likened an opposition party to the Nazis, praised Japan's colonial rule in Taiwan and, as foreign minister, told US diplomats they would never be trusted in Middle East peace negotiations because they have "blue eyes and blonde hair".
While figures show a record 2.14m Japanese on welfare (Oct.2012), Aso has led a life of privilege few of his compatriots could match. He's the grandson of an influential postwar PM, is married to the daughter of another former premier, and has ties to
the Japanese royals. While campaigning for the premiership in 2008, Aso denied that his family's coal mine, Aso Mining, forced 300 Allied POWs into work in 1945 without pay. In addition, 10,000 Korean conscripts worked in the mine between 1939-45 under severe, brutal conditions in which many of them died or were injured while receiving little pay.
Hmmm...methinx Aso is pronounced like "asshole"!!
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