<figure id="attachment_244710" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1675px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-244710"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="49f07d19"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/05/0bbd7302932a9e64cdcec6799847c452.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-244710" class="wp-caption-text">On May 10, Eriko Imai arrived at the Diet in a wheelchair; when FRIDAY directly interviewed her, she smiled shyly.</figcaption></figure>
 She said, &#8220;I&#8217;m fine. The pain is in my right hip, but I&#8217;m taking painkillers, so I&#8217;m fine!
On May 10, Eriko Imai, 38, a member of the House of Councilors of the Liberal Democratic Party, answered FRIDAY&#8217;s direct question with a smile. On May 4, Imai participated in a bullfighting festival in the town of Tokunoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, and fell from the back of a bull. She suffered a serious pelvic fracture. Six days later, Mr. Imai arrived at the Diet in a wheelchair to attend a meeting of the Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology Committee. When I spoke to her after the committee meeting, she responded as shown at the beginning of this article.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
Now she is facing headwinds from within her own party, according to an LDP official. A source in the Liberal Democratic Party said, &#8220;It is inevitable.
 She will be reelected to the upper house in July, but her reelection is in doubt. Besides, her important role as a high-profile candidate is to make speeches in support of candidates in various regions. However, this injury is likely to hinder her campaign. Managing one&#8217;s own personal crisis is part of a politician&#8217;s job.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
Political journalist Koichi Kakutani also commented.
 In the six years since he was elected, he has not made any significant achievements, and the public probably remembers only his affair with a dentist. He had a chance to make a comeback on issues such as the base problem and the unexploded ordnance problem, taking advantage of the fact that he is from Okinawa, but he couldn&#8217;t do it. With Akiko Santo, 80, who was behind him, retiring, it is expected that they will disappear from politics together.&#8221;
For Mr. Imai, the Upper House election is &#8220;my graduation. graduation （I hope this Upper House election will not be &#8220;my graduation&#8221; for Imai. &#8230;&#8230;
<figure id="attachment_244709" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1781px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-244709"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c2411dc2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/05/KIN_0569.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-244709" class="wp-caption-text">Unpublished article by Imai Eriko, a member of the House of Councillors: &#8220;Attending the Diet in a wheelchair,&#8221; a major headwind blowing from within the party.</figcaption></figure>
From the June 3, 2022 issue of FRIDAY

 Takeshi Kinugawa

 Ms. Eriko Imai, a member of the Diet, suffered a serious pelvic fracture and had to go to the Diet in a wheelchair. Her injury at such a critical time in her career has brought her into a critical situation, with criticism from both inside and outside the party, but does she have a chance to recover?

Rep. Eriko Imai, who has a broken bone, faces a huge backlash from her party for “coming to the Diet in a wheelchair!

Access Ranking