“Huh?” and a big smile on her face…we interviewed Ms. Mizuta Sugita, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications! We asked her about the truth behind her retraction and apology.

The remarks he made about LGBTQ people, Koreans living in Japan, and the Ainu people were similar to hate speech, such as, “They are not productive because they cannot bear children,” “They are sucked to the bone by the victim business (of LGBTQ support),” “They have dignity problems,” “They are disgusting,” and “They are a disgrace to the nation of Japan. It was a statement similar to hate speech,” said a young member of the LDP.

When asked by Ayaka Shiomura, 44, a member of the House of Councilors of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), about the series of problematic comments, Sugita replied, “I was an ordinary person at the time, so it was inevitable that I would have these kinds of impressions,” as if he was talking about someone else.

I was simply unsuccessful in the election. She has never responded to demands from the opposition or the public for a retraction or apology. I think she thinks that this is her ‘signature’ quality.

On December 6, we interviewed Ms. Sugita as she stepped off the elevator and headed toward the MIC meeting with a smile on her face.

–Good morning. You must have been unwilling to retract your statement and apologize, Mr. Sugita?

Heh?　No, no, nothing like that. ……

–I think it was a retraction and apology for bending his convictions.

‘No, no, I’m a member of the cabinet!　I’ll do my best.”

With that, he entered the committee room still smiling, clasped hands with Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Matsumoto, and bowed his head. It was hard to sense from his demeanor that he understood the gravity of the situation. According to a young LDP lawmaker, Sugita himself was not too concerned about the firestorm.

He proudly said that many of the phone calls to his office were encouraging, such as, “Mr. Mizuta is not wrong. He also said, “I don’t see any sign of remorse, saying, ‘It is …… that I am even questioned about my statements before I became a politician.

Until now, Mr. Sugita has held the position of delegate in the proportional representation. However, political journalist Akiko Azumi thinks that the next election will be tough.

He has been favored as the sole candidate for proportional representation, but under the LDP’s bylaws, he is limited to two elections in principle, and he will have to find a constituency before the next lower house election,” said Akiko Azumi, a political journalist. Now that former Prime Minister Abe, who stood behind him, is gone, it has become difficult to coordinate within the party.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, 65, has denied that he will be ousted, saying, “The right person is in the right position,” but the future is uncertain.

A cabinet reshuffle is expected to take place before the regular Diet session next January, and the prime minister is expected to be replaced along with Reconstruction Minister Kenya Akiba, 60, who is under scrutiny for alleged violations of the Public Offices Election Law. Even if he moves to the House of Councillors proportionally, he will have to refresh his image.

Mr. Sugita has been raised by some bigwigs for his repeated “verbal attacks” that resemble hate. The day will soon come when he will pay the price for offending the dignity of the weak and vulnerable, even though he is a politician.

From the December 23, 2022 issue of “FRIDAY