Shocking Confession from Taxi Driver Subjected to ‘Kasuhara’ by Councilor Gaku Hasegawa

“If my accusations were discovered by the company, I might be fired. However, after seeing repeated reports of his harassment, I felt that disclosing what happened that day would benefit society by preventing harm to my colleagues and fellow professionals in the future.”

The person revealing this is Mr. A, who works as a taxi driver for a company in Tokyo. When Mr. A talks about “him,” he refers to Councilor Gaku Hasegawa (53).

In March this year, Mr. Hasegawa faced severe criticism after it was revealed on singer Ikuzo Yoshi’s YouTube channel that he had displayed a “very arrogant” attitude towards flight attendants on an airplane, causing a major uproar.

Subsequently, it became public that he had repeatedly used intimidating language such as “I’ll explode” towards officials in central ministries and local governments. As a result, on May 29th, he decided to resign as the chairman of the Committee on Regional Revitalization and Digital Transformation in the House of Councillors.

Mr. Hasegawa apologized in parliament, stating, “I deeply reflect on my excessive remarks and actions.” However, even the author heard about his intimidating behavior from a regional airport executive approximately five years ago, making his power harassment and verbal abuse well-known.

Mr. A at the beginning is also a victim of Mr. Hasegawa’s unjust treatment.

“When I picked him up, he immediately started berating me in a very aggressive manner, and I was quite shocked.”

The order came through the radio room to Mr. A’s car on a day in September 2019. It was around noon. The terminal inside the car indicated a pickup location about 200 meters away from Tokyo Station Marunouchi South Exit. Mr. A moved the car as instructed, but there was no sign of the supposed passenger.

“As I got out of the car and looked around, I received a text message on my mobile phone from the radio room saying, ‘Go to the front of KITTE.'”

“KITTE” refers to the high-rise building “KITTE Marunouchi,” located near Marunouchi South Exit, on the former site of Tokyo Central Post Office. Mr. A hurriedly headed there, where he saw a man in a gray suit standing sternly on the roadside. It was Mr. Hasegawa.

For some reason, visibly sweating, he got into Mr. A’s car and immediately started shouting angrily like this.

“Use your common sense! Normally, it would be at the rotary or in front of KITTE!”

Mr. A followed the instructions from the radio room without fault. However, due to his position, he had no choice but to apologize profusely. Despite this, Mr. Hasegawa continued to berate him sharply.

“Are you going to charge me for this?”

In other words, Mr. Hasegawa was demanding a free ride. Mr. A tried to calm his anger and repeatedly bowed his head, saying, “No need for payment.”

Mr. A was so shocked by the events of that day that he detailed them in a memo with the exact date and time. Showing the memo to the author, he reflected on the incident like this.

“When I started driving, I was told to wait in front of a boutique this time. Mr. Hasegawa had apparently purchased two suits and hung them on the handrail in the back seat. He remained in a bad mood and ordered me to ‘hurry up!’ Next, I drove the car to its final destination, the House of Councillors Members’ Office Building.”

This happened as we passed through Uchibori Street toward the Members’ Office Building. Once again, Mr. Hasegawa shouted from the back seat.

“As I was about to turn left toward the parliament, he said, ‘Stay in the right lane!’ His reason was that ‘the left lane is congested.’ The right lane leads straight and doesn’t go to the Members’ Office Building, but I changed lanes as instructed. Then, just before the intersection, he suddenly said, ‘Turn left!’ I thought it was dangerous, but his manner was so forceful that I had no choice but to turn left from the straight lane.”

It sounds like a detailed account of the incident involving Mr. Hasegawa’s behavior towards the taxi driver, including potentially unsafe demands like sudden lane changes near intersections. This could indeed violate traffic laws, such as Article 30 of the Road Traffic Act (prohibiting lane changes within 30 meters before intersections to overtake other vehicles) and Article 35.

If asked about the harassment towards the taxi driver, Mr. Hasegawa’s office responded with the following:

“Since this incident occurred five years ago and there are no memories or records to confirm, it is difficult for us to provide a response. We are currently consulting with our lawyer and preparing to confirm with the taxi company.”

Mr. Hasegawa stated, “If any harassment incidents have been pointed out since March 24th of this year, I will not hesitate to resign as a member of parliament.” However, perhaps it’s worth reconsidering whether he truly deserves the qualification to wear the parliamentary badge in the first place.

From the June 21, 2024 issue of “FRIDAY