Mayor Ogawa’s Festival Charm and Late-Night Love Hotel Visit

Sitting next to someone at a drinking party

“Soudanbee~ Soudanbee~~”

A woman cheerfully clapped her naruko (wooden clappers) to the rhythm of the creative Yosakoi chant “Maebashi Danbee Dance”—this was Akira Ogawa (42), the mayor of Maebashi City in Gunma Prefecture, participating in the festival held in October last year. She shook her hips to the music and fully enjoyed her first festival since becoming mayor.

And yet, in just one year that radiant smile has disappeared from Mayor Ogawa’s face.

“On September 24, NEWS Post Seven broke the story of a secret meeting between Mayor Ogawa and a senior city official at a love hotel. In a press conference held the same day, Mayor Ogawa admitted to meeting the official at the hotel over ten times between February and September of this year, but denied any sexual relationship.

Since the city council’s regular September session ended on September 26, she has not returned home and appears to be moving from hotel to hotel. Of course, this time it’s for lodging purposes,” said a political reporter from a local newspaper.

This sudden news has only increased citizens’ anxiety, but a longtime acquaintance said, “It’s not surprising—it was more like finally, it came out.”

“She used to say things like, ‘My type is someone like Kazuhiro Kiyohara♡.’ She was always open, or maybe just had a romantic personality. After being elected to the prefectural assembly in 2011, different types of men started appearing around her. I realized that grabbing men was her own kind of political tactic. If she saw someone influential, she’d sit next to them at a drinking party, then find the right moment to grab their hand. She doesn’t drink alcohol, so it wasn’t like she was drunk—yet she was always very touchy.”

Come to think of it, even during the last “Maebashi Festival,” there were rumors that a detective was tailing Mayor Ogawa—possibly the work of a political rival. The acquaintance continued:

“I can only say it’s her own fault for acting so suggestively. I just hope she fulfills her responsibility to explain, and sincerely apologizes to the citizens as soon as possible.”

What’s needed for a comeback might be the spirit to admit wrongdoing—just like saying “Soudanbee~~.”

From the October 17, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”