TOKYO, JAPAN - JAPAN'S defence minister, under pressure to resign after a naval destroyer crushed and sank a fishing boat, said he would make his own decision but was not thinking of quitting now.

Opposition parties have called for Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba to resign over his handling of an inquiry into the collision, but Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda can ill afford to lose a minister seen as one of his most competent at a time when the leader's own popularity is sagging, analysts have said.

Mr Ishiba told a parliamentary panel that relatives of the two fishermen lost in the collision last week had urged him to fulfil his responsibility to find out why the accident happened and come up with measures to prevent it from happening again.

'To respond to the feelings of those with the most bitter thoughts is the way to take responsibility. I am always thinking whether I am responding to that, and I want to make my own decision,' he said.

'To say rashly at this stage that I will quit would not be responding to their bitter feelings.'

Conflicting reports about the circumstances of the early morning collision between the destroyer Atago and the two men's small fishing boat on Feb 19 have sparked accusations of a cover up, adding to pressure on Mr Ishiba from a series of previous defence scandals.

He has admitted his ministry took some inappropriate actions but denied any attempt to hide information, adding that he would resign if there was a cover up. -- REUTERS