TV host angers Japanese with Fukushima joke

TOKYO ?? Japan has reacted angrily to a French television host who showed a composite picture of national team goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima with four arms and made a joke about the "Fukushima effect."

1. Only on NBCNews.com

   1. Readers weigh in on debate questions
   2. University wants anti-gay marriage official back on job
   3. Shrinking cellphone bill claim may not be accurate
   4. No yearbook memorial for student who committed suicide
   5. World matches record for hottest September
   6. Voters doubt either candidate can help economy
   7. Undocumented hit GED barrier in quest for legal status

Praising Kawashima's performance in Japan's 1-0 win over France in a soccer friendly last Friday, Laurent Ruquier's wisecrack prompted laughter and applause in the studio, according to the video posted on YouTube.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura on Tuesday called Ruquier's remark, a reference to last year's nuclear crisis in Fukushima, "inappropriate."

Japanese spared of nuclear contamination

He added that the Japanese Embassy in France had sent a letter of protest to the television station France 2.

Video: Unmanned helicopter monitors nuke levels in Japan (on this page)

The letter said the remark "hurts the feelings of people affected by the disaster and hinders efforts for reconstruction," Fujimura added.

The nuclear disaster was triggered by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami in March last year. More than 15,000 people died and almost 3,000 are still unaccounted for.

Study: Japan nuke disaster caused mutated butterflies

Japan's education minister Makiko Tanaka, whose portfolio also includes sports, was far from amused.

"If it's true (he said it) it is behavior which lacks sensitivity," she said. "Many people were hurt in the nuclear crisis. I don't know how people can make fun of it."

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49427794/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

telenav telenav wade phillips wade phillips time person of the year sag nominations sag nominations