GUNMA (TR) – Akira Ogawa, the mayor of Maebashi City, denied allegations of adultery at a news conference held on Wednesday, reports Nippon News Network (Sep. 24).
An online news site reported that Ogawa, 41, on multiple occasions this year met at a love hotel with a married male subordinate while on official business.
“Regarding the online article about me, I would like to offer my deepest apologies to the citizens, employees, and the families of the employee for the great inconvenience it has caused. I am truly sorry,” she said.
Ogawa is single. She admitted to visiting hotels with the married male employee more than 10 times, but explained that there was no romantic relationship.
“It is true that I visited a hotel multiple times with the employee,” she said. “Though there was no romantic relationship, I deeply regret my reckless actions, which has led to misunderstandings.”
Heavy rain
Ogawa said that her first rendezvous with the subordinate was “around February or March.” She added that the meetings were not frequently held. “I go when I have a problem or need advice,” she said.
One meeting occurred on September 10, when heavy rain fell across Gunma Prefecture and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a heavy rain warning.
“In terms of crisis management, if there’s a risk of an alert, I’ll wait at home,” she said. “But on that day, there wasn’t anything particularly like that, so I was prepared to be contacted at any time, just like normal. I was in a position where I could rush over if anything happened, so I thought there was no problem.”
Ogawa admitted using official vehicles for the clandestine meetings.
“I’ve had official vehicles from city hall to drop me off at parking lots, and other times I’ve even driven my own car, and on my days off I’ve even driven my own car,” she said.
She admitted that she sometimes used official vehicles to get to meeting locations, and explained that she paid for hotel stays out of her own pocket.
“Victory for the citizens”
Ogawa, who was elected in February of last year, is a lawyer and former prefectural assembly member. She is Maebashi City’s first female mayor.
“I believe this victory is a victory for the citizens,” she said upon her election to office.
On her first day in office, she said, “I feel a heavy responsibility has been placed on me to protect the lives, livelihoods, and future of our 330,000 citizens.”
When asked why she chose to meet with the subordinate at hotels, she said, “I consulted with this employee on both my personal and professional matters, I had concerns that I couldn’t share with special-class employees or other employees, and he was the person I communicated with most.
The pair met in other locations as well.
“During the day, I had official duties and rarely had time to talk, so I would consult with him in my private time at restaurants or karaoke booths,” she said. “However, in restaurants or karaoke booths, the public’s eyes were on me and specific conversations were limited. We wondered if there was somewhere more comfortable for us to talk, and we discussed the possibility of a hotel.”
She acknowledged that the location of the consultation was “extremely inappropriate, and I deeply regret my reckless actions that could have been misunderstood.”
When asked why her office wasn’t an option, she said, “I didn’t want to show my crying or emotional state in City Hall, as I was worried about what people would think if I spent a long time with this particular employee.”
