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Japanese defense minister resigns
"Things developed in a different direction than I expected and I can`t gain people`s understanding," Kyuma told reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
"I told the prime minister that I will resign," he said. "And the prime minister accepted my offer."
Fumio Kyuma sparked anger Saturday when he said that the nuclear attacks on Japan by the United States "couldn`t be helped."
The controversy comes at a delicate time for Abe, who is already battling falling public support ahead of key upper house elections on July 29.
Kyuma, who represents Nagasaki in parliament, on Sunday apologized during a news conference in the southern port city for his remarks, which were denounced by ruling party and opposition lawmakers as well as victims of the attacks.
On August 9, 1945, a US nuclear bomb, codenamed "Fat Man" after British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, killed more than 70,000 people in Nagasaki.
The bomb was even larger than "Little Boy" which was dropped three days earlier on Hiroshima, killing some 140,000 people. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II.