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Disgraced lawmaker Toshinao Nakagawa offers apology in Hiroshima

Toshinao Nakagawa
Toshinao Nakagawa visited Hiroshima this week to apologize to constituents over a series of scandals that resulted in his resignation from the LDP (June 23)

HIROSHIMA (TR) – Lawmaker Toshinao Nakagawa visited his native Hiroshima this week to offer an apologies related to reports of his involvement in adulterous relationships with women that led to his resignation from the Liberal Democratic Party, reports TBS News (June 23).

A camera crew caught up with Nakagawa at the Hiroshima Airport on Thursday. “I’m really worn out, but I had a chance to go out and talk to everyone. For that, I was really grateful,” Nakagawa said.

According to a report in Shukan Shincho (Apr. 27), Nakagawa entered into a relationship in 2011 with a woman he met while employed employed at a broadcaster. Their tryst culminated with a fake wedding ceremony in Hawaii in September of 2013. That report came on the heels of the March 24 issue of weekly tabloid Friday, which outlined an illicit meeting between Nakagawa and LDP politician Megumi Maekawa.

Nakagawa was first elected to the lower house of the Diet in the fourth district of Hiroshima in 2012. The lawmaker is currently serving his second term. He was appointed vice minister of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry last August. He had previously served as a reporter for TV Tokyo, which is where he met the mistress who leaked her story to Shincho.

On April 18, Nakagawa cited “personal matters” as his reason for stepping down from his post with METI. Three days later, he announced that he would be quitting the LDP.

When asked by the network about possibly resigning from the Diet, the lawmaker said, “I don’t think this is the time to talk about that.”