MIE (TR) – Mie Prefectural Police have referred a city councilman member for Tsu City to the prosecutor’s office for kissing a fellow female council member and attempting to sexually assault her during a business trip in Hokkaido Prefecture last year.
During an interview with an investigator on September 30, the Sankei Shimbun learned that the unnamed councilman was referred to prosecutors on September 25 on suspicion of indecent assault without consent and attempted sexual intercourse without consent.
In an interview, the accused councilman explained that the allegations are “groundless.”
On July 20, 2023, the councilman is alleged to have forcibly kissed and groped the female city council member inside an elevator at a hotel in Otaru City, Hokkaido.
The incident took place that night. After dining with the male city councilman and others at a restaurant, the female city council member was in the elevator to return to her room when the city councilman got in with her.
The female city council member filed a damage report with Hokkaido Prefectural Police in February. The Mie Prefectural Police later took over the investigation.
According to the Tsu City Council Secretariat, six city council members belonging to the city council’s General Affairs and Finance Committee visited the three cities of Tomakomai, Chitose, and Otaru in Hokkaido from July 19 to 21 last year.
