[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Chiibi

..........what?

..............WHAT!?

..................WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?

He heard a RUMOR... that means it as absolutely ZERO value as data. It may have originated from a rumor troll (out of thin air) and easily excitable people propagate it. Link? Reference? News article? If one is going to play on the Internet, one should be absolutely ruthless in demanding some validation of assertions or rumor before reacting to it.

edit: this is all I found after scrounging pretty deep... a BBC World News article from FEBRUARY 2003:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3025240.stm

Fury over Japan rape gaffe (FEB 2003)

Spoiler for News article excerpts:

Mr Ota said he had meant to add that rape was a serious crime

A senior Japanese politician has been forced to apologise after sparking outrage by appearing to condone rape. Seiichi Ota, a lawmaker with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said at a debate on Japan's declining birth rate that at least gang rapists had a healthy appetite for sex.
"Gang rape shows the people who do it are still vigorous, and that is OK. I think that might make them close to normal," the former cabinet minister told a symposium.
Female legislators issued a joint statement on Friday condemning the remarks as an insult to all women.
One legal official said he thought the comments showed that Japanese society was too accepting of rape.
Gang rape shows the people who do it are still vigorous, and that is OK


Seiichi Ota


Mr Ota told reporters on Friday that he deeply regretted the "inappropriate, exaggerated expression" after he was reprimanded by LDP secretary-general Taku Yamasaki.

...

PM censure
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said the remarks were inexcusable.
"He deserves to be criticised. Rape is an atrocious act of cowardice and has nothing to do with virile qualities," the leader told reporters.
"I don't understand why he should make such a comment," he added.

In other words... a seven year old story about a single politician who put his foot deep in his mouth... and caught hell for it. A couple of years ago, he was forced to quit as the agricultural minister over a tainted rice scandal.

The moral of the story here is never accept rumors on face value.... in fact, make the person stating the rumor check it out themselves.

This reminds me of a certain US politician that told a "rape joke" at a camp out... the press got hold of it and he was toast as well. (oh, btw, that was decades ago)