Hyogo Gov. Toshizo Ido said during a meeting Tuesday that a major earthquake in the Tokyo area would provide a "chance" to prop up the economy in western Japan including his prefecture, meeting participants said.

Ido made the remark at a meeting in Wakayama of governors from the western Japan region in reference to the concentration of economic activity in Tokyo, they said.

Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto, who took part in the meeting, told reporters afterward that he thought the remark was "not appropriate."