Mayor Who Visited Hotels with Subordinate Receives ‘Ultimatum’ from Assembly Members to Resign

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:03 JST, October 22, 2025

Maebashi Mayor Akira Ogawa on Wednesday received a formal request from city assembly members urging her to resign and run for reelection, following a scandal in which she made multiple visits to hotels with her married male subordinate.

The request was submitted by seven factions comprising 33 of the city assembly’s 38 members.

“[The situation] is causing confusion and stagnation in governance, imposing excessive workloads on city employees beyond their core duties and causing them mental exhaustion,” the members said in the request.

The 42-year-old mayor has said that she had no romantic feelings for the subordinate nor a sexual relationship with him. However, the request said, “Restoring trust is impossible with the mayor’s illogical explanation.”

A representative from the largest faction told reporters that the request “serves as an ultimatum,” suggesting that if the mayor does not resign by the opening of the regular assembly session in late November, a resolution urging her resignation may be submitted.