<figure id="attachment_308961" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 822px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-308961"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8521cae8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/2019032903589.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-308961" class="wp-caption-text">Muto, a suspect who lost his election to the Shiga Prefectural Assembly (PHOTO: Kyodo News)</figcaption></figure>
 The man caught was a former member of the House of Representatives, a &#8220;demon twice removed.
 On April 23, the Metropolitan Police Department&#8217;s International Crime Unit caught a former representative, Takaya Muto, 43, in the act for locking up a male acquaintance in his 30s. Earlier in the day, the suspect allegedly tried to force a male acquaintance into his car on a street in Kudan-minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, as he was going home. Investigators responded to a 110 call from a witness and arrested Muto and five men from Uzbekistan who were inside the car.
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 The car was a rental car, and the suspect Muto was driving. The Uzbek men appeared to be trying to take the men inside the car. To the police investigation, Muto denied the crime, saying, &#8216;I did not push them into the car nor did I give them any instructions. It is believed that there was a financial problem with the man.
 Muto was first elected to the House of Representatives in December 2012, when he ran for the LDP&#8217;s Shiga 4th Constituency in the Lower House election. However, in August 2003, the Shukan Bunshun (weekly magazine) reported that Muto had gotten into financial trouble with a male acquaintance after he offered him a chance to buy an initial public offering of shares that were sure to rise in value with a Diet member&#8217;s quota. The same magazine also reported that he had prostituted an underage man. Although he had been elected twice, he was said to be one of the &#8220;devil&#8217;s sophomores&#8221; who had many troubles.
 Muto gave up running for the House of Representatives in October 2005.&#8221; He will run for the Shiga Prefectural Assembly in April 2007, but will be eliminated at the bottom of the list. Furthermore, he was found to have distributed unregistered documents during the election period and was convicted of violating the Public Election Law and fined 500,000 yen. Abe&#8217;s children&#8217; were responsible for the LDP&#8217;s return to power under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but scandals were a constant source of embarrassment.
 FRIDAY&#8221; (August 28, &#8217;15 issue) reported on Muto&#8217;s habit of outspokenness. We would like to recount and look back on the controversial firestorm.
<h2>Extreme selfishness.</h2>
 Dr. Muto is well known for his outspokenness. Some of his seniors who were elected in the same year as him have experience as chiefs, but he doesn&#8217;t care. When it comes to discussions, he is completely straightforward, saying things like, &#8216;That&#8217;s not right.
 As a loyal subordinate of former Prime Minister Abe, Muto was a man who would poison all those who opposed the Security Treaty Bill. That was Muto.
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 The student group SEALDs claims that they are self-centered and extremely selfish, saying, &#8216;Because we don&#8217;t want to go to war,'&#8221; he said in a tweet.
 After graduating from Kushiro Konan High School in Hokkaido, Muto spent five years as a freelancer before entering Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. He went on to graduate from Kyoto University and became a staff member of the Shiga Prefectural Assembly.
 He was elected at a young age in the general election of 2012, when the Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory due to Abe&#8217;s popularity, and he must have mistakenly believed that he was a great man despite his lack of accomplishments. When he responded to a comment made by a much older opposition party member, he would say, &#8220;I told you that the (Security) Bill is not a war bill! He was also verbally and abusively criticizing the remarks of a much older member of the opposition.
 Muto&#8217;s comments were questioned by both the ruling and opposition parties. Since his days as a member of the Diet, he has not retracted or even deleted his tweets when they came under fire or criticism.
 Muto has denied committing the crime. Will he be able to stick to his statement and prove his &#8220;innocence&#8221;?

 Kyodo News Agency

 Takaya Muto, a former member of the House of Representatives, was arrested. He is suspected of locking up a male acquaintance. The suspect, Muto, has had many troubles since he was a member of the House of Representatives. Here is a collection of his tons of rants that were considered problematic by the ruling and opposition parties.

Even to his seniors, &#8220;I told you it&#8217;s not a war bill! and a &#8220;tame&#8221; talk&#8230;Former Muto councilor who was arrested for incarceration, &#8220;A ton of inflammatory rhetoric&#8221;.

Even to his seniors, “I told you it’s not a war bill! and a “tame” talk…Former Muto councilor who was arrested for incarceration, “A ton of inflammatory rhetoric”.

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