Japan female politician removed from office after accusing mayor of sexual assault

A female counsellor of a Japanese town has been voted out of office after she accused the mayor of the town, Nobutada Kuroiwa, of sexual assault in the past.

Shoko Arai is the only female counsellor of Kusatsu. She claimed the Mayor had "forced (her) into sexual relations" while she was in his office a few years back. The Mayor, however, denied these accusations.

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However, a few colleagues of her have now hit back at her claiming she has ruined the reputation of their town by making such accusations against the Mayor. They also questioned as to why did she not report the incident earlier. Arai, however, said she had been too afraid to go to the police immediately after the incident.

Arai claimed the 73-year-old Mayor "suddenly pulled me closer, kissed me and pushed (me) down on the floor" so hard that she "couldn't push him back."

The Mayor, however, has denied these accusations claiming the doors and curtains to his office were open on the day Arai has claimed the incident took place. He has also filed a defamation case against the politician now.

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The female counsellor was also removed from office by her colleagues who have accused her of passing "scandalous" remarks against the leadership of the town which has negatively affected "the dignity" of the council. While locals tried to overturn the decision, the politicians were able to collect enough signatures from voters to recall the vote. "2,542 out of 2,835 residents who voted supported the recall," town spokesman said.

Arai has slammed this decision as unjust and has vowed she "will not be terrorised by pressure from people with power".

"There is no reason for dismissing me,” she said. “A recall spearheaded by influential figures in the town, such as the mayor and assembly members, runs counter to the philosophy of the recall system."

The lawmakers of the town feel this will be a backward move in their continuous effort of wanting to restore "restoring the damaged reputation of the town".