(JAPAN TIMES) As a member of the Diet’s Upper House and as director general of the Democratic Party of Japan’s International Department, I wish to comment on the circumstances of The Washington Post editorial “Poisonous thinking in Japan,” which The Japan Times published on this page March 10. [The editorial referred to my ideas about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as "bizarre."]

On March 3, Washington Post editorial writer Lee Hockstader visited me for an interview — requested through the Foreign Press Center — on Japan’s attitudes toward immigration. The requested interview time of one hour was spent discussing the current situation relating to Japan’s response to immigration and my opinions on this issue. Hockstader typed my comments into his laptop computer as he had requested.

After the interview ended and Hockstader closed his laptop, he mentioned that he had noticed from my resume that I had raised the issue of the 9/11 terror attacks in a Diet committee and asked whether I had some doubts about this issue. In response, I explained the circumstances that had led me to become involved in the 9/11 issue and pointed out a number of points that remained unexplained about the events of that day. I assumed that this question was separate from the interview just ended.

Although this was an informal chat regarding 9/11, at no point did I draw the conclusion that 9/11 was a conspiracy. I clearly stated I had never concluded that the collapse of the Twin Towers had been a result of a controlled demolition. Rather, my speech in the Diet had emphasized that it was necessary to investigate the origins of the “war on terror” from the perspective of assisting the relatives of 9/11 victims, and in relation to the war in Afghanistan and the provision of humanitarian assistance.

I have worked for many years to serve as a bridge between Japan and the United States, including by providing assistance to former American POWs held captive by Japan. I currently serve as senior director of the Research Committee on International Affairs and Global Warming Issues in the Upper House, but I was introduced in the editorial as “head of the Research Committee on Foreign Affairs.” The editorial also describes me as a “Brahmin in the foreign policy establishment” of Japan when, in fact, I am not involved in policy matters.

I find it regrettable that this kind of biased article should be published in The Washington Post.