Koji Tsuji, 48, a Saitama prefectural assembly member, who was charged with posting sexually explicit images of a woman he knew on the internet in January this year, resigned on March 1.
The police found the photos in an internet search, and when they investigated the source, they identified that Senator Tsuji had posted the pictures using his smartphone.
He said in an interview that he had posted several photos he had taken on the internet and that he had been drinking at the time which made him feel a little light-headed, “I have no more apologies, I’m truly sorry.”
The issue has brought back into the spotlight the sudden cancellation of a series of swimsuit photo shoot at the Saitama Prefectural Water Park, which were due to take place around June last year.
The events were planned to be held by several groups at two water parks, with a number of models and pin-up girls taking part, but there were complaints from citizens that the poses were too extreme, and the Prefectural Assembly of the Communist Party also requested that the photo shoots be cancelled because the facilities owned by the prefecture shouldn’t be rented on the grounds that they were “commercializing sex” and “minors would also participate”.
The organizers then announced that “we regret to inform you that we have received a request from the venue to cancel the event”.
The fact that Tsuji, a member of the Saitama Prefectural Assembly, had been sent to prosecution on suspicion of displaying obscene images has sparked criticism, such as “What does person who posted the obscene images have to do with cancel the swimsuit session?”
