Unfit for Speaker

The Speakers of both Houses of the Diet are called the heads of three state powers, and the highest morality is required to them. One of the two, Speaker of House of Representatives Hiroyuki Hosoda held a press conference on Friday to announce his resignation. However, he did not honestly answer the questions about the relationship with a religious corporation to which the government requested dissolution order, and sexual harassment against female journalists. His conversations in the conference are regarded as harming the dignity of his position. 

In October 2019, Hosoda made a speech in an international conference of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formally known as Unification Church, in which he congratulated the conference and told that he would report about it to then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The speech indicated his close relationship with FFWPU. Hosoda later admitted that he attended the meetings of FFWPU for eight times.

 

In the press conference, Hosoda explained that he did not have so close relationship with FFWPU and attended the meetings only when he was invited. FFWPU was spotlighted after the man who shot Abe to death told vengeful sentiment against the organization and relationship between FFWPU and Abe. Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi is known as one of the politicians who connected Unification Church and Liberal Democratic Party. The lawmakers of Seiwa-kai, the faction to which Kishi and Abe was affiliated, have maintained relationship with Unification Church or FFWPU the most in LDP. Hosoda was the head of the faction between 2014 and 2021.

 

Hosoda said that he did not actually report about the conference in 2019 to Abe and it was the lip service to FFWPU considering the long relationship with Abe. But he refused answering question about the details of their relationship, reiterating “I don’t know.” If the Speaker of House of Representatives and Prime Minister had been deeply involved in the activities of a religious organization which committed coercive donation or sales of goods, the people may doubt that the politics might be distorted with their relationship.

 

Hosoda also revealed his concept on sexual harassment. Asked about the reports on his approach to female journalists with words of “Do you have any boyfriend?” or “Won’t you come to my house now?” he explained that they were nothing more than rumors. The reason of it was very unique. “There is no person who said the details of the sexual harassment of me. ‘#Me Too’ stands only when someone speak out,” said Hosoda. The Speaker of House of Representatives in Japan does not understand how many victims of sexual harassment face difficulty of speaking out about their damage.

 

Hosoda explained that he would be stepping down as the Speaker because of his ill health with early stage of cerebral infarction and surgery of prostate gland, his careless speeches in the press conference indicated that he was unfit for one of the heads of the state power.

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