<figure id="attachment_278925" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-278925" style="width: 4179px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0e372aec"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/12/2015101400692.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-278925" class="wp-caption-text">Secretaries to the three political ministers are a handful of elite officials within the ministry (Photo: Kyodo News)</figcaption></figure>
 The &#8220;three political ministers,&#8221; or ministers, vice-ministers, and parliamentary secretaries of each ministry and agency, are assigned secretaries from their respective offices. They are the aces and potential aces of each ministry and agency, so to speak, the top elite of Kasumigaseki. FRIDAY Digital&#8221; has learned that one of these &#8220;super elites&#8221; has been quietly arrested. A source close to the case said, &#8220;He was a parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
 Mr. S. is a secretary to Mr. Ryuji Satomi, a METI parliamentary secretary. He is a 37-year-old METI bureaucrat who became a secretary upon Satomi&#8217;s appointment as political secretary in August of this year.
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 Mr. S. joined the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) after graduating from a graduate school of a regional national university. He was mainly engaged in environmental policy, including renewable energy.
 The incident occurred in the early morning of November 19. On that day, Mr. S. invited a woman in her late 20s whom he met on a matching app to his home.
 Mr. S and this woman apparently met through the app about two years ago. On that day, Mr. S became angry when the woman posted slanderous content about him on a social networking service. He then threw his cell phone at her, causing injuries to her right eye and side. The woman is said to be in a state of &#8216;hemorrhage in the right eyeball.
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 Mr. S. was caught red-handed at around 4:00 a.m. on the same day.
 Mr. S. was released at the district attorney&#8217;s office, and it seems that he was given a verbal warning at that time. We also learned that Mr. S. had a criminal record in the past: in 2006, he was convicted of misappropriation of lost and found property in Mie Prefecture. The fact that such a person was appointed as a secretary to the three political officers has been criticized by some within the Ministry.
 When we asked Satomi for an interview, he responded as follows.
 We are aware that the staff member was arrested for a private matter on a non-working weekend, and we deeply regret it. The individual deeply regrets the incident and has already been released.
 The METI Public Relations Office acknowledged the facts and responded as follows.
 METI is cooperating with the investigation and will take strict action as necessary. At the time of his arrest, the official in question was the chief parliamentary secretary, but he has since been transferred to a different department. (Were there any signs?) (Were there any signs?) We are aware that the staff member has been performing his duties with sincerity and that there have been no problems with his work attitude.
 How will he be dealt with in the future? What will be METI&#8217;s response?

 The "three political ministers," or ministers, vice-ministers, and parliamentary secretaries of each ministry and agency are assigned secretaries from their respective offices. They are the aces or candidates for aces in each ministry, so to speak, the top elite of Kasumigaseki. One of these "super elites" has been quietly

Scoop! METI “Parliamentary Secretary” Arrested for Assaulting a Woman

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