Handsy Japan Innovation Party Politician Draws Online Ire

Handsy Japan Innovation Party Politician Draws Online Ire

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Inose of the Japan Innovation Party gives a speech alongside former snowboarder Ebisawa.
A Japan Innovation Party politician caused an online firestorm when filmed being a bit too touchy-feely with candidate Ebisawa Yuki during a stump speech.

There’s always bound to be drama during campaign season, and this year’s Upper House elections are no exception. Politician Inose Naoki of the populist Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai; ๆ—ฅๆœฌ็ถญๆ–ฐใฎไผš) is facing a flurry of criticism for his conduct with a female party member during a campaign speech in Tokyo on June 12th.

Japan Innovation Party logo in Japanese, alongside green circle and stylized Arabic numeral for "one."
Japan Innovation Party logo.

During a campaign speech recorded and uploaded to YouTube, Inose introduces candidate and former professional snowboarder Ebisawa Yuki, first calling her by the wrong name, then touching her shoulder as he apologizes, then drifting his hand over her collarbone and chest as he turns back to address the crowd [1]. The video has gone private, but a 15-second clip posted by user @GreatRaiden quickly spread around on Twitter. It has 2.2 million views as of this writing.

great_raiden on Twitter: “ๅ‹•็”ปใง่ฆ‹ใ‚‹ใจใ‚ˆใ‚Š้…ทใ„ใงใ™ใ€‚ pic.twitter.com/VUOGOhF1TV / Twitter”

ๅ‹•็”ปใง่ฆ‹ใ‚‹ใจใ‚ˆใ‚Š้…ทใ„ใงใ™ใ€‚ pic.twitter.com/VUOGOhF1TV

General reactions to the video were mostly outrage and disgust mixed with cries of sexual harassment. One female reporter tweeted, “Since the issue of sexual and voter harassment towards female politicians is currently an issue, I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard female candidates say they felt uncomfortable when they were touched during their street campaign activities.”

On June 17th, Inose tweeted an apology, acknowledging his carelessness and vowing to be more aware of his conduct. When Business Insider reached out to his party for comment, they agreed Inose was a bit too handsy and voiced their intent to prevent similar incidents from occurring. [1] Ebisawa also took to Twitter, admitting surprise over the online kerfuffle even though Inose “barely touched her chest” but stating she believed his response was sincere. That alone may have put the matter to rest, yet people are still crying harassment. (While I concur that the touching was inappropriate, it’s not my place to speculate on the truthfulness of Ebisawa’s statement or her true feelings regarding the matter, so for now, I’m taking her at her word.)

Campaign poster for Ebisawa Yuki, a candidate for the Japan Innovation Party.
Campaign poster for Ebisawa Yuki. Photograph by Noah Oskow.

The Reality of Harassment in Japanese Politics

The incident has renewed discussions on the harassment and unwanted advances women in politics face. Compared to their male counterparts, female politicians in Japan disproportionately find themselves victims of “voter harassment” or hyou hara (็ฅจใƒใƒฉ), sexual harassment of female politicians perpetrated by voters or supporters who threaten not to vote. In a 2021 Cabinet Office survey, 61.8% of 994 respondents who ended up not running for election said they had faced some form of harassment from voters and politicians, with women making up 65.5% and men 58%. [2] Another survey of 5,513 local legislators revealed 42.3% said they’d dealt with harassment, with women facing more harassment at 57.6% compared to men at 32.5%. [2]

During last November’s House of Representatives election, only 45 women secured seats, drawing attention to the dismal lack of female representation in the upper echelon of politics. Many female politicians are also taken less seriously, as Rep. Shiomura Ayaka found out when she was heckled by male colleagues after voicing concerns about teenage girls being pressured into pornography. As we reported during the November House of Representatives election, harassment is just one of the many factors preventing women from finding success in politics, including a lack of sufficient childcare benefits. Clearly, Ebisawa, herself a mother of four, isn’t letting herself be deterred by recent events, as she continues to campaign on the streets with Inose. Hopefully, Inose will learn to keep his hands to himself — and hopefully, other male politicians will also be more conscientious towards their female colleagues.

Wall of posters featuring candidates for the upcoming election in Japan.
A local Tokyo poster board featuring campaign posters for the upcoming election day. Photo by Noah Oskow.

Ichikawa Fusae: The First Woman of Japanese Politics

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Sources

1. ็ถญๆ–ฐใƒป็Œช็€ฌๆฐใฎๅฟœๆดๆผ”่ชฌใŒ๏ฝขใ‚ปใ‚ฏใƒใƒฉ๏ฝฃใจๆ‰นๅˆคๆฎบๅˆฐใ€ๆœฌไบบใฏ๏ฝข่ปฝ็Ž‡ใ ใฃใŸ๏ฝฃใ€‚ๆพไบ•ไปฃ่กจ๏ฝขๆ…Žใ‚€ในใ๏ฝฃ. Business Insider.

2. ใ€Œ็ฅจใƒใƒฉใ€ใจใฏ๏ผŸๆœ‰ๆจฉ่€…ใ‚„่ญฐๅ“กใŒใ€Œไธ€็ฅจใฎๅŠ›ใ€ใ‚’่ƒŒๆ™ฏใซ…็Œช็€ฌ็›ดๆจนๆฐใฎใ€Œ่บซไฝ“ใซ่งฆใ‚Œใ‚‹ใ€่กŒ็‚บใงใ‚‚่ฉฑ้กŒใซ. HuffPost Japan.

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Alyssa Pearl Fusek

Alyssa Pearl Fusek is a freelance writer currently haunting the Pacific Northwest. She holds a B.A. in Japanese Studies from Willamette University. When she's not writing for Unseen Japan, she's either reading about Japan, writing poetry and fiction, or drinking copious amounts of jasmine green tea. Find her on Bluesky at @apearlwrites.

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