The Cry That Shook Gunma: Ex-Mayor Ogawa’s Love Hotel Scandal and the Tearful Tactic

The relationship between the mayor and the wife’s representative of a male city employee

“I want to listen to the voices of the citizens before making a decision.”

That was on October 2. Speaking through tears at a closed-door briefing to city council members was Akira Ogawa (42), the mayor of Maebashi, which has been shaken by a love hotel scandal. It was revealed on September 24 by the news site NEWS Post Seven that Ogawa had visited a love hotel more than ten times with a male subordinate who works as a city hall employee.

At the press conference held the night the news first broke, and at two subsequent briefings for city council members—three appearances in total—Mayor Ogawa admitted to going to love hotels with the male employee but denied any sexual relationship, saying:

“There was no romantic or physical relationship.”

A Maebashi city council member described the situation in the council as follows

“During the October 2 briefing, Mayor Ogawa was in tears the entire time, dodging tough questions. She admitted that the incident was entirely her fault, but denied any romantic involvement. She also didn’t make any clear statement about whether she would resign. It wasn’t really a meeting where any progress was made.”

At that same meeting, a well-known local lawyer—who had become the representative for the wife of the male employee—was also present.

“The lawyer is a prominent and capable man in the prefecture, but I’ve heard he has long been acquainted with the mayor. Even though they denied any collusion, some people criticized that there might still be connections between them. Soon after, that lawyer began releasing statements supposedly from the male employee, saying, ‘The mayor cries easily, so I thought a hotel would be more private. I was the one who invited her.’ It’s well known in city hall that the mayor tends to cry easily—but if that’s the case, a rental conference room would have worked just as well, right?” (the same council member said).

In fact, it seems that even before the October 2 briefing, Mayor Ogawa had already launched a tearful persuasion campaign. Another council member explained:

“Around the previous weekend, Mayor Ogawa apparently started calling senior council members, apologizing and saying things like, ‘I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused,’ and ‘Please don’t issue a resignation recommendation—please help me.’ I’ve heard that during some of those calls, she seemed to be crying.”

According to several council members, Ogawa also cried during the earlier September 26 briefing for city council members. A Liberal Democratic Party member of the Gunma Prefectural Assembly who knows her behavior well said:

“Her favorite phrase is, ‘I want to go into national politics.’ She has always used tears as her weapon. Many men have been completely swayed by her tears.”

She placed her hand on his knee and whispered softly in his ear

“With the support of former House of Representatives member and current Gunma prefectural assembly member Takeshi Miyazaki, Mayor Ogawa received official endorsement from the Democratic Party and ran in the 2011 Gunma prefectural election. Originally from Chiba, she had no personal network in Maebashi, so Miyazaki fully backed her—from people to resources to funding. However, right after her election, she reportedly began tearfully telling people, ‘Mr. Miyazaki is bullying me,’ and those who believed her story distanced themselves from him. I also heard that she would whisper softly in people’s ears, ‘Please support me too,’ or place her hand on their knee as part of her seduction strategy. Frankly, it gives me chills.”

According to this LDP-affiliated Gunma assembly member, Mayor Ogawa’s habit of crying has even been nicknamed “Ogawa-naki” (“Ogawa Crying”) among local politicians. The assembly member continued:

“She’s famous for being able to cry naturally and at will. Last year, during a Rotary Club meeting the mayor attended, an announcement was made that an influential member of the club had passed away. Apparently, Mayor Ogawa suddenly began crying, which caused a stir among attendees. But it turned out she had no personal connection to that person. When people started to sense something was off, she must have realized it—because her tears stopped almost instantly. It was such a strange incident that several people called me about it that same day.”

Her cunning didn’t stop there. A member of her support group recounted what happened during the 2015 prefectural election:

“There was a fight inside her campaign office after her victory. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the shouting was loud and unforgettable. The two people fighting were both men who had been won over by the mayor through her usual charm tactics, and rumors spread that she was romantically involved with each of them. They never explained why they fought, but to everyone around, it was obvious it had something to do with Mayor Ogawa.”

On October 3, the Maebashi City Council—representing all political factions jointly—submitted a formal request urging Mayor Ogawa to promptly clarify her position regarding whether she would remain in office.

According to some reports, the request stated:

“The series of reports concerning Mayor Ogawa has caused deep distrust and disappointment among citizens.”

And, in a sharp rebuke meant to prompt self-reflection, it added:

“Regarding this issue, which has now grown into a social phenomenon, Mayor Ogawa has failed to fulfill her responsibility to explain herself, and her statements have not been accepted as truthful.”

However, one city council member commented:

“What Mayor Ogawa did falls into a gray area—possibly inappropriate in a civil sense, but difficult for the council to pursue formally. If there were a clear violation, such as an election law infraction, we could be more assertive. It’s frustrating. Some believe she might actually stay on as mayor.”

What decision will Mayor Ogawa ultimately make?