A Japanese former prime minister and vice-president of the ruling Liberal Democratic party has been accused of sexism after making insulting comments about the foreign minister’s appearance and age.

Taro Aso, who is 83, also referred to Yoko Kamikawa, 70, as obasan – a commonly used word for middle-aged women that some regard as derogatory - and twice got her surname wrong, calling her Kamimura. He incorrectly suggested she was Japan’s first female foreign minister.

Kamikawa, who became one of five women appointed to the prime minister, Fumio Kishida’s cabinet in September last year, brushed off Aso’s comments

• Japan’s former PM, 83-year-old Aso, piles insults on female foreign minister