TOKYO (AP) — Japan's deputy prime minister has retracted his comment that seemed to praise the motives of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Taro Aso was speaking at a political seminar Tuesday when he said: "I don't question a politician's motives; it is delivering results that matter. Hitler, who killed millions of people, was no good, even if his intentions had been good."

Japan's government confirmed Wednesday that Aso had retracted the comment as inappropriate.

Aso in 2008 was criticized for comparing the tactics of the Democratic Party of Japan to those of Nazis in 1930s Germany. And in 2013 he withdrew a comment that seemed to suggest Japanese leaders should follow Nazi Germany's example in changing the constitution.