A secretary to Japan's prime minister is in hot water for saying he despises same-sex couples. Arai Masayoshi later retracted the remark and apologized.

On Friday, Arai said to reporters that all of Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's secretaries are negative about same-sex marriage.

He added that he hates to even see such couples, and would not want any as his neighbors.

At the same time, Arai said he respects their human rights.

He also said he believes some people may leave the country if the government legalized same-sex marriage.

Later in the day, he told reporters he wanted to withdraw the remarks if they caused misunderstanding.

Arai also revealed he had not asked his colleagues for their opinions on the issue.

The controversial remarks come after Kishida said in the Diet earlier in the week that lawmakers should carefully consider whether to legally recognize same-sex marriage.