A scandal is brewing after winning the election despite the fact that the head of a metropolitan government in Japan had an affair by exchanging obscene e-mails with his mistress for the past 11 years.
According to the Japanese media, “Daily Gendai” and others, on the 9th in Japan, elections for governors of 9 prefectures (wide-area organizations) and elections for members of 41 prefectures were held simultaneously.
Kuroiwa Yuji (68), governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, the second most populous metropolitan area in Japan, had been recommended by Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito Party, and National Democratic Party. He won a total of 1,933,753 votes in the election, beating the other three candidates by a large margin and succeeding in the fourth term.
When Governor Kuroiwa’s re-election was confirmed, strong criticism of Governor Kuroiwa poured out in online communities in Japan. This is because he won an overwhelming victory even though the affair scandal of Kuroiwa governor was made public just before the election.
Shukanbunshun (週刊文春), a Japanese current affairs weekly, reported on the affair scandal of Governor Kuroiwa with less than a week left before the election on the 5th. The main content of the scandal was the revelation of a woman who had an internal relationship with him for 11 years from 2000 to 2011.
Among the contents of the report, an obscene email sent by Governor Kuroiwa to his mistress drew attention. It contained obscene language and vulgar expressions, and even demanded the purchase of adult videos from my mistress. The day after the report came out, he admitted to her affair and apologized.
After winning the election, Governor Kuroiwa said, “This happened 10 years ago. He said, “From now on, it is not starting from zero, but has become negative. We have to start anew from now on,” he said.
In response to Governor Kuroiwa’s re-election success, Japanese media focused on reactions such as ‘the worst election in Japan’, ‘Calls of complaints rushing to Kuroiwa’s prefectural office after having an affair for 11 years’, and ‘prefectural residents ashamed of Kuroiwa’s election’ Reported.
An official from the Liberal Democratic Party, the party to which Governor Kuroiwa belongs, said, “If the report on the affair had come out earlier, the outcome would not have been known.” Voters were forced to make an agonizing choice.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.