<figure id="attachment_428269" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-428269" style="width: 905px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="54c92f59"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/06/b3f3e8ce051c03aba8ab29fb666c80cb.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-428269" class="wp-caption-text">Yuichiro Tamaki, the representative of the &#8220;People&#8217;s Democratic Party of Japan,&#8221; has decided not to endorse Shizuri Yamao (left). &#8230;&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Called &#8220;Gasoline</h2>
 It seems that the price he paid for indulging in the &#8220;forbidden fruit&#8221; was too great.
 Former Lower House Representative Shizuri Yamao, 50, who had planned to run for the National Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in the proportional representation in the Upper House election, has been rejected by the party. This was due to the fact that after deciding to retain Yamao, his supporters rapidly fell away from him.
 Some in the party are beginning to question the responsibility of Yuichiro Tamaki, 56, the party&#8217;s representative, for this poor decision.
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 The decision to withdraw Mr. Yamao&#8217;s official recognition was made in the afternoon of June 11 in a sudden and dramatic turn of events.
 On the previous day, June 10, Mr. Yamao held a &#8220;runoff press conference&#8221; in the Diet, which was attended by more than 100 members of the press. Beginning with the allegations of adultery in the past, he talked about his gasoline bill, which earned him the nickname &#8220;Gasoline,&#8221; and his personal use of his JR pass, which allows unlimited rides for Diet members.
 One of the most frequently asked questions was about her alleged affair with a man who served as Yamao&#8217;s policy brain at the time.
 Although the story was widely reported eight years ago, Mr. Yamao refused to hold himself accountable, citing the &#8220;line between public and private life. To top it off,
 &#8220;I will not give in to idle curiosity,&#8221; he said.
 and subsequently left the political world.
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 Asked about this at the press conference, Yamao said it was a &#8220;personal matter.
 I will not talk about anything new,&#8221; he said. I would like to refrain from talking about anything new.
 The assembled press corps responded, &#8220;I am not going to talk about anything new. The assembled press asked, &#8220;What is this press conference for?
 What was the purpose of the press conference?
 If you are not having an affair, why don&#8217;t you just say so?
 and &#8220;If you&#8217;re not having an affair, then just say so!
 One of the reporters from a national newspaper who covered the event said
 One of the reporters for a national newspaper who covered the event said, &#8220;From the impression I got from the press conference, I got the impression that he didn&#8217;t admit to the affair itself. This is not going to convince the public.
 The press conference was a virtual &#8220;zero-answer&#8221; session.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" At the press conference, there were virtually no answers."></div>
At the press conference, questions were also asked about the suicide of the ex-wife of the man with whom she was allegedly having an affair. Mr. Yamao responded
 I am sorry, but I do not know the circumstances of what you have just pointed out. I am sorry, but I do not know the circumstances of what you are referring to. I am sure that this will cause trouble for people in various positions. I am truly sorry. Please allow me to refrain from discussing the matter at this time.
 That was all he would say.
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 It is true that the causal relationship between Yamao&#8217;s alleged affair and his ex-wife&#8217;s suicide is unclear. Nevertheless, since many of his supporters had been paying the most attention to this issue, the fact that he gave virtually &#8220;no answer&#8221; left them with a strong sense of dissatisfaction.
<h2> I have serious doubts about his ability to govern.</h2>
 The death of his ex-wife, which followed the allegations of adultery, is a serious question in his mind. The biggest focus was how Mr. Yamao was dealing with this. In response, Mr. Yamao simply spoke the answer he had assumed in advance. The press conference was a disaster. In fact, it ended up adding fuel to the fire.
 After the press conference, the KDP received a string of &#8220;angry&#8221; contacts from supporters. Until then, the party had been on a tear with its catchphrase &#8220;increase your take-home pay,&#8221; but its support rate plummeted after it decided to back Mr. Yamao. The party had been on a tear ever since it decided to back Yamao, but its support plummeted after the party decided to back him.
 The main reason for this was that the supporters who had long supported the KDP had drifted away. Some surveys have indicated that the KDP will have a tough time in the Upper House election, with the Liberal Democratic Party and the public sector holding firm. This has made the party&#8217;s executive committee pale in the face.
 The decision to retain Mr. Yamao was a key initiative of Representative Tamaki. Some believe that even if the party withdraws its endorsement, it will be impossible to return to the previous level of support. One of the political insiders mentioned above said, &#8220;We couldn&#8217;t have predicted this.
 &#8220;Mr. Tamaki bears a great deal of responsibility for not having foreseen what was going to happen.
 Tamaki is to blame for not foreseeing this.
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 Political commentator Harumi Arima also commented,
 Harumi Arima, a political commentator, also commented, &#8220;The fact that former politicians such as Genki Sudo, Yasushi Adachi, and Michiyo Yakushiji, including Mr. Yamao, are forced to run for office reveals the KDP&#8217;s lack of human resources. However, in the case of Mr. Yamao, many people from within the party were dismayed at Mr. Tamaki, whom they had nominated as an official candidate. Supporters are the ones who silently leave. There is no doubt that Ms. Yamao was the cause of the stalling.
 He analyzes the situation as follows.
 Mr. Yamao updated X on June 12,
 I have serious doubts about [the KDP&#8217;s] ability to govern, so I hope that from now on we will draw a line in the sand.
 In his update on June 12, Yamao announced his resignation from the KDP, saying, &#8220;I have serious doubts about the KDP&#8217;s ability to govern itself, and I hope that I can make a clear distinction from now on.
 For Yamao, who had every intention of making a political comeback, the sudden removal of the ladder from her position oozes a sense of unconvincing displeasure. We will have to wait and see what kind of action she will take in the future.

 Afro (Yamao), Takayuki Ogawauchi (Tamaki)

 Shiori Yamao, a candidate for the National Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), was recently removed from the party's official list of candidates. At a press conference held the day before, she gave "zero answers" about the affair and other issues, which led to her being passed over for official recognition. ......

Shiori Yamao&#8217;s &#8220;official recognition&#8221; was put off after she gave no response to the &#8220;suicide&#8221; of her ex-wife with whom she had an affair&#8230;The party&#8217;s representative Tamaki&#8217;s theory of responsibility smoldering within the party.

Shiori Yamao’s “official recognition” was put off after she gave no response to the “suicide” of her ex-wife with whom she had an affair…The party’s representative Tamaki’s theory of responsibility smoldering within the party.

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