Hiroshima, Nagasaki bombings "crime": Japan lawmaker

TOKYO (Reuters) - A senior ruling party lawmaker who is at the center of a controversy over Japan's ban on nuclear weapons said on Monday the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a crime.

Shoichi Nakagawa, policy chief of the Liberal Democratic Party, triggered a furor in October following North Korea's nuclear test, saying Japan should debate acquiring its own nuclear weapons.

"By dropping two atomic bombs, many people, including ordinary citizens, were killed," Nakagawa told reporters.

"I believe that such an act can be called a crime."

Nakagawa had made similar remarks during a speech in Nagasaki at the weekend, saying he cannot forgive the U.S. decision to drop the bombs toward the end of World War Two, the daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.

The paper also quoted him as questioning whether it was enough for Japanese politicians to simply pray for peace.

On Monday, Nakagawa did not touch on whether Japan should go nuclear, saying Japan should lead efforts to rid the world of such weapons, including North Korea's.

While Japan officially interprets its pacifist constitution as allowing the possession of small nuclear weapons for defensive purposes, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly said Japan will stick to its ban on nuclear arms.

North Korea's nuclear test in October sparked speculation that Japan might be tempted to follow suit, but Abe has said there will be no official discussion of the issue in parliament or within the ruling party.