Tokyo Ward Mayor to Resign amid Probe

Jiji Press

11:25 JST, October 27, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Yayoi Kimura, mayor of Tokyo’s Koto Ward, said Thursday that she will resign from the post, after prosecutors searched her office earlier this week over alleged violation of the public offices election law.

“As the investigation continues, I must not allow ward government affairs to stagnate any longer,” Kimura told a press conference the same day as she vowed to quit apparently to take responsibility for the scandal. “I’m terribly sorry.”

Kimura is suspected of involvement in the posting on the internet of a paid advertisement asking people to vote for her in a mayoral election in April. The law prohibits such paid online ads.

According to Kimura and others, the ad was shown on YouTube for five days during the campaign period for the mayoral election.