Veteran House of Representatives member: “Suspicious document alleging sexual harassment” behind her decision not to run in the next election

“It must have been around the middle of September. Suddenly, an LDP city councilor in Osaka Prefecture received an e-mail from an anonymous citizen. The contents of the e-mail were so shocking that it was immediately shared among the people concerned, and there was a huge uproar within the LDP in Osaka.

On August 27, Naokazu Takemoto, a member of the House of Representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), announced that he would not run for election to the House of Representatives in the next term. 80 years old, one would think that retirement would be the default course, but in fact, age is not the only reason.

“In ’19, Mr. Takemoto was criticized for assuming the post of IT minister despite being the chairman of the Federation of Hanko Councils, but even before that, his reputation in his hometown was not good. He was criticized for not paying any attention to the voices of local assemblymen. In July this year, six of the eight regional chapters in Osaka’s 15th district, his home district, passed a resolution recommending his retirement. Even so, he resisted, saying, “I will do it until I die. The following month, however, he suddenly announced his retirement and appointed his daughter-in-law as his successor.

Under such circumstances, more suspicions have surfaced about Mr. Takemoto. The following “suspicious document” is the result.

I am a citizen of Matsubara.

In the document, which begins with “I am a citizen of Matsubara.

The document, which begins with “I am a citizen of Matsubara,” says that after “00” (real name in the original) lost the election for Matsubara City Councilor three years ago, Takemoto summoned “00” to a hotel room and forced her to have a relationship with him, saying he would make her his secretary.

The audio is also available.

This alone could be considered a malicious prank. However, since there is a photo of him crawling on the thigh of a woman who is believed to be a candidate for the Matsubara City Assembly election attached to the document, it seems that the local LDP officials who saw the “suspicious document” are not so easily dismissed.

The “suspicious document” says, “Please impose ‘sanctions’ on him while he is still in office. It is said that the document may have been written by LDP officials who are dissatisfied with Takemoto, who forcibly appointed his daughter-in-law as his successor.

The woman who ran for Matsubara City Council in the “suspicious document” was considered a promising young candidate, but unfortunately failed to win the election, and FRIDAY tried to interview her directly to find out the truth.

“I don’t want to get involved.

I don’t want to get involved.

Is the “sexual harassment allegation” in the “suspicious document” true? Mr. Takemoto responded to this magazine’s questionnaire as follows.

“The contents of the document are not true.

Ahead of the House of Representatives election scheduled for November, various speculations are stirring.

“From the October 15, 2021 issue of “FRIDAY