Tokyo’s reigning rape novelist Shintaro Ishihara has proclaimed the recent earthquake and tsunami are divine punishment (“tenbatsu”) for the sinful depravity the Japanese people now embody.

Asahi press club journalists quote him as saying the following when asked “how should the Japanese people view the quake?” in connection with the recent power trouble:

The identity of the Japanese people is greed. This tsunami represents a good opportunity to cleanse this greed, and one we must avail ourselves of. Indeed, I think this is divine punishment.

When asked by an incredulous journalist as to whether this was an imprudent utterance better not reported, he responded “It may be harsh for the victims to hear, but I want you to take it down and report it.”

He is currently running for his 4th term.