Niigata is currently in the midst of a swampy &#8220;backdoor money scandal. It all started when Hirohiko Izumida, 59, a member of the House of Representatives, tweeted on November 29 that he had been asked to pay back taxes for the Lower House election.
 At a press conference on December 1, Mr. Izumida revealed that the person who demanded the money was Isao Hoshino, 82, a prefectural assemblyman who is known as the &#8216;Don of Niigata&#8217; in the Liberal Democratic Party. Since then, they have been engaged in a war of refutation with each other,&#8221; said a reporter from a national newspaper.
<figure id="attachment_220834" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3625px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-220834"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="08ba5260"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/2021120114315-3.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-220834" class="wp-caption-text">On December 1, Mr. Izumida held a press conference. The Nagaoka branch of the Liberal Democratic Party has asked the prefectural federation to dismiss Mr. Izumida as the head of the Niigata 5th district branch.</figcaption></figure>
FRIDAY has obtained a document about Mr. Izumida. It is a &#8220;Hogacho&#8221; (a book of offerings) from 1991, when Mr. Izumida married his wife, Ako. The &#8220;Hogachou&#8221; is a document in which volunteers introduce the beginning of their marriage and solicit donations. At the time, Mr. Izumida was a bureaucrat at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), and among the founders were Shin Hosaka, the current Director General of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, and Yasufumi Tanahashi, the former Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission.
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The following is a revealing account of their smiling first date.
 The reason why Mr. Senda chose Summerland was to make Ms. Ako cackle on the free-fall ride and, if possible, to make her cling to him. But the truth was that she was so used to amusement parks that she was not scared at all. But she was used to amusement parks and wasn&#8217;t scared at all. Still, Izumi was undeterred, and as soon as he saw that his free-fall plan had failed, he suddenly and forcefully grabbed Ako&#8217;s hand.
In the book, there is even a description of Mr. Izumida&#8217;s proposal.
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 In the middle of June, Mr. Izumida invited Ms. Ako on a date to Disneyland, and just before the fireworks went off, he and Ms. Ako went to the parking lot. As they watched the fireworks shining in the night sky, he suddenly proposed to her, saying, &#8220;We&#8217;re poor, but we&#8217;ll make it together. He suddenly proposed to her.
Aiko was surprised but said yes.
 Mr. Izumida later became governor of Niigata Prefecture in 2004 and a member of the House of Representatives in 2005. After their marriage, he and his wife had a daughter, and now the family helps him with his campaign activities.
There seems to be no doubt that he is a man of pure heart.
<figure id="attachment_220833" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2631px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-220833"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="bea28fc7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/001.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-220833" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Izumida and his wife&#8217;s wedding votive tablet. The story of how Mr. Izumida was introduced to his wife by an acquaintance is written in vivid detail.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_220835" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2631px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-220835"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7ac164d3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/002.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-220835" class="wp-caption-text">The book of offerings at the time of Mr. Izumida&#8217;s marriage to his wife. The book contains an unvarnished account of how Mr. Izumida was introduced to his wife by an acquaintance.</figcaption></figure>
From the December 31, 2021 issue of &#8220;FRIDAY

 Kyodo News (Mr. Izumida)

 The Niigata region is currently in the midst of a "backdoor money racket". It all started when Hirohiko Izumida, 59, a member of the House of Representatives, tweeted on November 29 that he had been asked to pay back taxes for the Lower House election. At a press conference on December 1, Mr. Izumida said that he had been asked for back taxes.

 The "Don of Niigata" bites the dust, exposes his first date with his wife as a "free-for-all to get her to hold on to him," and even proposes to her, "We're poor, but we'll make it together. ......

Senator Hirohiko Izumida’s smiling proposal to his wife.

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