But one is. Japanese lawmakers were aghast on Wednesday when Yoshitaka Sakurada, 68, the minister who heads the government’s cybersecurity office, said during questioning in Parliament that he had no need for the devices, and appeared confused when asked basic technology questions.

“I have been independently running my own business since I was 25 years old,” he said. When computer use is necessary, he said, “I order my employees or secretaries” to do it.

“I don’t type on a computer,” he added.

“I don’t know details well,” he said. “So how about having an expert answer your question if necessary, how’s that?”

The comments were immediately criticized.

“I can’t believe that a person who never used a computer is in charge of cybersecurity measures,” said Masato Imai, an opposition lawmaker.

Even before his admission on Wednesday, Sakurada, who is also overseeing the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, had occasionally attracted media coverage for head-scratching public comments. A week before his comments on cybersecurity, The Asahi Shimbun wrote that he showed a “knack for giving baffling replies.”

His responses to questions about Olympic preparations “showed a stunning lack of understanding of basic issues concerning the event,” the newspaper wrote.

The Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, gave Sakurada oversight of cybersecurity and the Olympics and Paralympics last month in a Cabinet shake-up.

The New York Times

Daniel Victor © 2018 The New York Times