Japan Press Weekly

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2023 September 20 - 26 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

LDP Sugita’s social media post insulting Ainu is human rights violation

The Judicial Ministry’s local legal affairs bureau in Hokkaido’s Sapporo City on September 20 recognized that Liberal Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives Sugita Mio’s act of posting an insult to the Ainu people on social media constitutes a human rights violation.

Sugita wrote the post in question in 2016 when she took part in the UN Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. She posted on social media, including her blog, a photograph of Ainu and Korean women in traditional dress, calling them “middle-aged cosplayers”.

Sugita is notorious for her sexist and racist remarks.

In 2020 at an LDP meeting discussing measures to support sexual assault survivors, she degraded victims of sex crimes by saying, “Women can easily lie about sexual assault.” In 2018, Sugita contributed to the August issue of the monthly magazine “Shincho 45” an article filled with discrimination against LGBTQ and other sexual minorities. She, for example, called same-sex couples “unproductive”.

On top of this, Sugita is also notorious for her revisionist remarks. In the April 2018 issue of “Shincho 45”, she made a remark denying the fact that there was a Japanese military comfort women system during the war.

Despite the frequent controversial remarks, Sugita has received favorable treatment from the ruling LDP. In the 2017 and 2021 general elections, she was placed high at the LDP’s list of proportional representation candidates and won a seat in the elections. In the 2022 Kishida Cabinet reshuffle, she assumed the position of parliamentary vice minister for internal affairs.

Such a generous treatment of Sugita by the LDP and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is tantamount to encouraging Sugita to make more discriminatory remarks. They should be held accountable for this matter.

Past related articles:
> Sexist LDP Dietmember holds key gov't post, triggering public criticism [August 21, 2022]
> LDP Sugita refuses to retract her remark insulting sexual assault victims [October 2, 2020]