(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-02 15:30

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Sunday rejected calls for his defence chief to resign, saying he was needed to reform the scandal-ridden defence ministry, Kyodo news agency said.

Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba has been harried by accusations of a cover-up over the circumstances behind a collision between a destroyer and a fishing boat last month.

Ishiba has admitted flaws in the ministry's investigations, but denied any attempt to hide information and pledged to resign if a cover-up was shown to have taken place.

"It is Minister Ishiba's responsibility to take charge of reform and create a ministry and armed forces trusted by the people," Kyodo quoted Fukuda as telling reporters after visiting the relatives of two men still missing after the collision.

The ministry is undergoing reforms after a series of bribery scandals and security leaks over the past year.

"I am aware of various criticisms, but rather than my own problems, if we don't do something about this organisation, this country will not become a proper nation," Ishiba said in a televised discussion on Sunday.

"I never intend to run away, but I want always to think about what responsibility I should fulfill to the nation," he added.

But the opposition Democratic Party, which, along with smaller allies, dominates the less powerful upper house of parliament, said Ishiba was not a convincing reformer.

Opposition parties have criticised him for initially claiming the ministry was not in touch with the crew of the destroyer involved in the crash, but later admitting he personally had questioned the ship's navigator.

"In a sense, he is responsible for what has happened until now,", Democratic Party executive Kenji Yamaoka told the programme, noting that other problems had emerged when Ishiba had held the top defence post in the past.

"This time there is clearly manipulation of information," he added. "For the person who is in charge to talk about reform as if he were a third party or a reformer will not persuade the people," Yamaoka said.

He said Ishiba should resign after clarifying the causes of last month's accident.

The loss of a minister seen by analysts and the electorate as one of his most competent would be a blow for Fukuda, whose support rates are already sagging.

His government is having trouble even appointing a new central bank governor in the face of objections by the powerful opposition.