Japan’s finance minister apologized on Tuesday for saying that childless people were to blame for the country’s declining population and rising social security costs.

The minister, Taro Aso, had said on Sunday that Japan’s national health insurance system helped to extend the longevity of Japanese people.

“Some people blame the elderly,” a demographic with high medical expenses, for the rise in social security costs, he added. “But it’s wrong. It’s more problematic that people did not have enough babies.”

On Tuesday — after lawmakers in the country’s Parliament demanded that he retract his remarks — Mr. Aso said he was sorry if some people found them “unpleasant.”