Japan minister quits over execution remark, PM delays trip

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has delayed his departure to Southeast Asia’s three upcoming summits. He’s staying back in order to sack and replace Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi over a remark he made about capital punishment that was criticized as inappropriate. Hanashi made a comment Wednesday at a party meeting that his low-profile job makes lunchtime news only when he uses his “hanko” stamp to approve executions in the morning. The remark quickly sparked criticism from the opposition and even within Kishida’s governing party, which is already mired in a controversy over its ties with the Unification Church.