It was revealed that the opposition leader, who holds the casting vote in the election for the Japanese prime minister, had an affair with a female entertainer who was 16 years younger.
The local weekly "Smart FLASH" reported on the 11th that Yuichiro Tamaki (55), the leader of the third opposition Democratic Party, had an affair with Miyuki Koizumi (39), a female actor who served as Takamatsu City's tourism ambassador.
District officials said there had been rumors that Tamaki was having an affair, and they also showed up close at district events. In addition, the two were seen going in and out of the Takamatsu downtown hotel several times, it said.
In fact, on the night of the 30th of last month, representative Tamaki appeared in a hoodie at a wine bar in Shinjuku-gu, Tokyo, and Koizumi was seen about 20 minutes later.
Representative Tamaki held an extraordinary press conference on the morning of the article, saying, "What was reported is generally true," and admitted to the affair and said, "I sincerely apologize not only to my family but also to many people who looked forward to it."
On the issue of maintaining his representative position, he said, "I want to hear colleagues' opinions," but virtually refused to resign, saying, "If you forgive me, I would like to return it to work as a lawmaker."
While the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the ruling New Komeito failed to secure a majority of seats in last month's general election, the National Democratic Party of Korea increased the number of seats in the House of Representatives from seven to 28, securing a casting vote in the prime minister's nomination election and policy-making process.
The People's Democratic Party is expected to play a kingmaker by allowing the re-election of Shigeru Ishiba, the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, to vote for representative Tamaki in both the first and final elections.
The Liberal Democratic Party has also decided to maintain its power based on a "partial coalition" that cooperates with each policy, reflecting the claims of the National Democratic Party, which has a relatively similar tendency in economic measures.
The National Democratic Party of Korea held a general meeting of its lawmakers on the same day and reaffirmed its existing policy of voting for Tamaki in both the first and final elections for the prime minister's nomination while retaining his leadership.
Kyodo News reported that there were no objections to retaining the representative position at the general meeting of lawmakers, and that they decided to vote for Tamaki unanimously in the prime minister's nomination election.
Reporter Lee Yu Na from Digital News Team.
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