• By
  • Yoko Sudo
Akihiro Suzuki, a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, bows to Ayaka Shiomura, a fellow assembly member, to apologize for his sexist jeer during a recent assembly session, at Tokyo city hall on June 23.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

A storm of protest erupted in Japan after a female member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly was subjected to sexually offensive remarks by male council members last week. As calls to identify and punish the offenders grew, an assemblyman came forward and apologized to the victim.

At a new conference Monday, Assemblyman Akihiro Suzuki admitted he was the one who started heckling fellow member Ayaka Shiomura as she spoke during a formal assembly session on June 18 about problems facing working mothers. Mr. Suzuki said he was responsible for one of the remarks heard in recordings of the session aired widely on television and online, in which a voice is heard to call out: “Why don’t you hurry up and get married?” He apologized directly to Ms. Shiomura.

Mr. Suzuki explained that the remark was directed toward women in general, and not as a specific insult to Shiomura, a 35-year-old opposition lawmaker.

“Lightheartedly, I hoped women will get married soon because I thought that might alleviate the problems we face in Japan of low birth rates and late marriage,” he said. He apologized for lacking understanding and consideration toward women in various circumstances. He said he didn’t realize at the time that what he said was insulting.

The 51-year-old assemblyman belongs to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and is known for his conservative views. In 2012, Mr. Suzuki was among several lawmakers who landed on disputed islands in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, against the government’s advice, and planted a Japanese flag there.

So far, Mr. Suzuki is the only person to take responsibility for the June 18 incident, but others were also involved, including someone who jeered: “Can’t you even bear a child?” Others, including Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe laughed along, interrupting Ms. Shiomura as she spoke about women in need of assistance.

Mr. Suzuki said he plans to leave the LDP because of the incident, but will continue his term as a third-term assembly member. That might prove difficult, given the pressure building on those involved in the incident.

The heckling gathered widespread domestic and international attention. As of Monday afternoon, the website Change.org had gathered over 88,000 signatures for its petition calling for punishment of the offenders. Ms. Shiomura’s opposition party has been analyzing the voices on the recordings to identify the hecklers. Even senior LDP official Shigeru Ishiba said on a weekend political TV talk show: “Whoever made the sexually harassing remarks should admit and apologize. If it’s someone from my party, we must apologize as a party.”

Mr. Suzuki faced tough questioning from reporters Monday, having earlier denied his involvement. “There was a myriad of information and speculation about what allegedly happened during the assembly, to the pont of overflowing. I missed the chance to tell the truth,” he explained.

Mr. Suzuki said he decided to apologize on his own initiative, without pressure from others. He said whoever made sexist remarks should come out and apologize, and that he will participate in the investigation.

“As a father, my words were disrespectful to my family,” said Mr. Suzuki, who is married with three children.

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