What the HELL is wrong with Japanese politicians?

[Pert_UK]

I know quite a lot about Japanese society and some of the things that go on which seem odd to Westerners.......but these remarks seem to show that there is something incredibly wrong with the Japanese psyche. I mean, these people are running the country:

"In the last two weeks alone, two politicians have sparked fury among female legislators 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.

Then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, commenting on Mr Ota's remarks, suggested women who are raped are "asking for it" by the way they dress.

Possibly the most gaffe-prone of all Japan's politicians, former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, also drew fire last week for suggesting childless women should be denied welfare payments in old age...

Senior Japanese politician Takami Eto sparked complaints from China at the weekend after he suggested that the Nanking massacre during World War II was a "big lie"...

Mr Eto's comments followed controversy sparked by a Japanese politician last week, who said the parents of a boy suspected of killing a small child should be beheaded."

Full article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3058189.stm

[Aaron]

1. Is this indicitive of something in the culture?

Or are these guys nuts? I'm curious. I took a Japanese history class once but never anything involved enough to know how this kind of stuff plays with the general public there. IIRC a few DUers live in Japan, any thoughts?