Party Expulsion and Resignation Follow Indecent Conduct by Komeito Lawmaker

Secret filming discovered during the service

On December 5, at the opening of the Tokushima Prefectural Assembly’s plenary session, a vote was held on the resignation submitted the previous night by former prefectural assembly member Hiroshi Furukawa (64), and it was unanimously approved.

Furukawa was arrested on November 29 by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Akasaka Police Station on suspicion of violating the Act on Punishment of Sexual Image Recording, for secretly filming a woman working at an adult entertainment establishment in Tokyo. As of December 1, it had already been reported that he intended to resign.

“On the night of the 28th, Furukawa stayed at a business hotel in Akasaka and called a woman in her 20s from a dispatch-type adult entertainment service to his room. During the service, however, the woman noticed a sound like the clicking of a video pause button and discovered that Furukawa was secretly filming her with his smartphone. The phone had been placed where the woman could not see it, and it is believed that a sound was made when he tried to stop the recording.

The woman contacted the establishment, which then notified the police. Furukawa reportedly admitted the charges, saying, ‘There is no mistake that I filmed it with my smartphone.’ Videos of other women were also found on his phone, and he is said to have stated that he had done the same thing several times in the past, so additional offenses may be pursued,” said a reporter from the social affairs desk.

Furukawa, who had served as the representative of Komeito’s Tokushima Prefectural Headquarters, was elected three times from the Tokushima electoral district (Tokushima City and Myodo District) and had also served as head of the Komeito Tokushima Prefectural Assembly caucus.

On the day of his arrest, Komeito Secretary-General Minoru Nishida issued the following statement of apology. It is unusual for a party’s national secretary-general to release a statement over misconduct by a local assembly member.

“This matter involves an extremely unethical and serious suspected crime that violates human rights, and it must be said that it gravely damages the honor of the party in light of the party’s principles and rules that Komeito lawmakers must uphold, as well as the political ethics standards expected of those who should serve as a model for the public.”

Although Furukawa was expelled from Komeito effective December 1, it was revealed the same day that he had been released because “the request for detention was denied.” Does this mean he was cleared of all charges? According to attorney Koichiro Matsui of Atom Law Office, it means that “the court did not find it necessary to detain the suspect, and therefore his physical custody was lifted.”

At this point, no decision has been made on whether to indict or not indict

“This is determined through a comprehensive assessment of factors such as the risk of flight, the risk of destruction of evidence, and the seriousness of the case. It is a procedure different from a decision not to prosecute, and even after release, the investigation continues as a non-custodial case. At present, no decision has been made regarding indictment or non-indictment.

Going forward, if a settlement is reached between the suspect and the victim, it is often the case in practice that the matter results in non-prosecution. If no settlement is reached, the case often concludes with a fine.”

Regarding this incident, some voices online questioned whether secretly filming a sex worker during a service actually constitutes a crime. Voyeuristic filming is generally prohibited at adult entertainment establishments, but in some escort services, for example, there are shops that allow video recording as an optional service. Moreover, when people think of voyeur filming, they often imagine secretly recording things like changing clothes or bathing—situations that are normally not visible. But would it also violate the law to secretly film something that is plainly in front of one’s eyes, such as a partner’s naked body?

“The crime of filming sexual posture, etc., broadly punishes acts of filming sexual parts regardless of the relationship between the parties. Therefore, even if the other person is a romantic partner or spouse, and even if both are naked in the same room, secretly filming without the other person’s consent constitutes voyeur filming, and the offense of filming sexual posture, etc., is established.

Rather than whether it is something normally not visible, the key point is whether sexual parts were filmed without the other person’s consent,” said attorney Matsui.

Although there remains a possibility that the case will result in non-prosecution, former assembly member Furukawa has already lost all the political standing he had built up as an elected official. Even if he were not a public figure serving as a prefectural assembly member, there is no doubt that he committed an obscene and disgraceful act.

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