Japanese politician and Diet member Sugita Mio (杉田水脈) is in the news again for opening her mouth and letting words fly out. This time, the object of her ire appears to be other women in Japan – who, Sugita informs us, are inveterate liars.
Making Light of Assault, Rape
Mainichi Shinbun reports members relaying that, during a joint session of the Diet in which members debated measures to help victims of rape and violence, Sugita said that “women often lie” (女性はいくらでもうそをつけますから).
The comment proved so toxic that, at a press conference immediately afterwards, Sugita denied saying it. But Mainichi talked with several people who were in attendance at the Diet session who confirmed the utterance. In fact, some say she repeated it several times.
Criticism of Sugita’s remarks was swift. Tamura Tomoko, strategy chairwoman for the Japan Communist Party, said, “I can’t contain my anger. It’s hard to forgive someone for saying that we should prevent measures that let victims be heard instead of just crying themselves to sleep.”
Journalist Egawa Shoko (江川紹子) had even sharper words for the politician. Egawa is the survivor of a vicious assault by members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult. Cult leader Asahara Shoko, fearing she’d uncover the truth about the cult’s murder of her friend Sakamoto Tsutsumi, ordered followers to kill her with a lethal dose of phosgene. Egawa asked Sugita on Twitter: “Are you saying I’m a liar?”
And activist Kitahara Minori called Sugita’s words “a resignation-worthy statement.”
No Stranger to Controversy
This isn’t the right-wing LDP politician’s first time making headlines. Longtime readers of Unseen Japan may remember how Sugita Mio kicked off a nationwide series of protests in 2018 with her comments that Japanese LGBT citizens were “unproductive” and that the state should ensure no taxpayer money ever flows to them. More recently, she made news when she argued at the start of the COVID-19 crisis that the government should “rethink” sending financial aid to taxpaying permanent residents.
Sugita is also currently being sued by Ito Shiori, who is suing multiple parties for disparaging comments about her after she accused journalist Yamaguchi Noriyuki of rape.
