Japanese woman councillor who accused mayor of sexual assault voted out of office

A Japanese town’s assembly has voted off its only female member who last year accused the mayor of sexual harassment.

Shoko Arai who was a councillor in Kusatsu, a town in central Japan’s Kanto region, lost her seat after more than 90 per cent of its residents voted for a recall, saying she has “damaged the town’s reputation,” according to Japanese media reports. 

In November 2019, Ms Arai in an e-book claimed that the mayor of Kusatsu, Nobutada Kuroiwa, had "forced (her) into sexual relations" while she was in his office in 2015. She said the 73-year-old had suddenly pulled her closer, kissed her and pushed her down on the floor while she “couldn’t push him back."

He has denied the allegations and said his office door and curtains were open on the day of the alleged incident. He had subsequently filed a defamation complaint with local police against Ms Arai.

Her allegations triggered an angry backlash among male members of the assembly which was followed by a series of personal attacks against her.

In December 2019, her fellow councillors voted her out of office but the move was overturned by prefectural authorities. 

Local politicians, who accused her of “harming the dignity” of the council, then gathered enough signatures to hold a recall vote. A town hall spokesman said that of the 2,835 residents who voted, an overwhelming 2,542 backed her removal.

However, Ms Arai, 51, was unrepentant, and described the vote as “unjust and unreasonable". She said that she would “not be terrorised by pressure from people with power," reported the Asahi Shimbun.

Her former colleagues defended the decision. A representative of the lawmakers who organised the vote told Japan’s public broadcaster NHK that they “want to work on restoring the damaged reputation” of Kusatsu, a town of 6,200 people that attracts large numbers of tourists.

The reaction to Ms Arai’s allegations has refocused attention on what campaigners say is Japan’s failure to properly investigate allegations of sexual violence. According to a 2017 government survey, just four per cent of women come forward with sexual assault allegations.

Japan ranks at the bottom amongst G7 countries on female representation in politics and business.

There also have been concerns in the country about authorities failing to take cases of sexual assault and rape seriously with its #MeToo movement also struggling to take off.