Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raises hand to answer questions at parliament in Tokyo
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raises his hand to answer questions at a parliamentary budget committee in Tokyo February 5, 2007. Japan's top government spokesman said on Monday Health Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa should stay in his post despite a furore over his reference to women as "birth giving machines", but pressure to resign looked unlikely to fade. REUTERS/Toshiyuki Aizawa (JAPAN)