TOKYO (TR) – Remarks about foreigners made in a speech last week by Tamayo Marukawa, who is making a comeback with the Liberal Democratic Party in the upcoming House of Representatives poll, have sparked controversy online.
The speech by Marukawa, 55, was delivered on January 27, the day the election was announced. Marukawa served three terms as a member of the House of Councillors. In 2024, she ran in the general election for the House of Representatives but was defeated.
According to the Mainichi Shimbun, which reported on Marukawa’s speech in Shibuya Ward, she reflected on the circumstances surrounding her defeat and the aftermath, citing an example of something she “hadn’t realized if she had stayed in Nagatacho.”
She said, “The number of foreigners in this city is increasing. I feel anxiety and confusion about them coming into the area where we live.”
Marukawa, the former Olympic Minister, is running in Tokyo’s 7th district in the House of Representatives election on February 8.
The election is her return. In 2024, Marukawa was reprimanded over a party faction slush fund scandal. Her tearful apology garnered much attention, but the headwinds were too strong and she suffered a crushing defeat in the general election. Since proportional representation seats were not permitted to be overlapped, she was forced to retire.
Marukawa’s comments were not met favorably in some circles. Freelance writer Sunaetsu Takeda posted on his X account on January 28 about Marukawa’s comments, “These are the words of people who say they ‘draw a line between themselves and xenophobia.’ There is danger in using the phrase ‘area of living.'”
Photojournalist Natsuki Yasuda pointed out, “There is no end to the number of candidates who use the ‘foreigner issue’ to ignore their own problems.”
