Defeated Japan election candidate held over promising to pay marketing campaign workers

Tokyo police on Saturday arrested a 66-year-old physician who ran unsuccessfully in final month’s normal election as an unbiased, on suspicion he promised to pay marketing campaign workers, a violation of the election regulation.

The Metropolitan Police Department arrested Masafumi Tabuchi, who contested the Tokyo No. 26 constituency within the election for the House of Representatives, in addition to 37-year-old Shigeru Kobayashi, who managed the candidate’s marketing campaign workers.

The two allegedly promised 4 folks of their 20s to 30s in early October to pay ¥1,500 per hour as remuneration for election marketing campaign work.

The public workplaces election regulation bans, in precept, funds to marketing campaign workers in addition to promising to take action. According to the police, Tabuchi and Kobayashi verbally promised remuneration however didn’t really make funds.

Around 30 folks, together with workers of a hospital the place Tabuchi works and acquaintances of Kobayashi, had been members of the marketing campaign. They distributed leaflets on the road.

Tabuchi’s marketing campaign stirred up controversy as a result of the workers included a girl in revealing clothes, whose images had been posted on social media by his camp.

Tokyo police searched Tabuchi’s hospital and different places earlier this month.

Tabuchi ran as an unbiased within the April 2016 by-election in Kyoto Prefecture’s No. 3 constituency.

He then ran for a proportional illustration seat as an official candidate of the now-defunct Kibo no To (Party of Hope) within the 2017 Lower House normal election and for the Tokyo No. 5 constituency seat with the endorsement of Nippon Ishin no Kai within the 2021 Lower House ballot.

He additionally ran to grow to be mayor of Tokyo’s Meguro Ward as Nippon Ishin’s candidate in April 2020.

He misplaced all these elections.