Mori under pressure despite divine apology

The Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshiro Mori, has apologised to parliament over his remarks about the divinity of the emperor which had caused public outrage.

But the pressure on him is continuing with several opposition parties reported to be considering a no-confidence motion.

There's also been widespread criticism of him in the Japanese press, and from Japan's neighbours including China and South Korea.

Mr Mori says his reference to the divine emperor was about the importance of tradition and education, but critics have been offended because of the role of the emperor as a focal point in Japan's militaristic past. The Prime Minister is also fighting on another front -- he's filed a ninety-two-thousand-dollar libel suit against a monthly magazine called Truths Behind Rumours which alleges he was caught in a police raid on a brothel in nineteen-fifty-eight.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service