Ruling Coalition Lawmaker Resigns after Late Night Tokyo Hostess Club Visit

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:29 JST, February 1, 2021

Lower house member Kiyohiko Toyama of ruling coalition party Komeito submitted his resignation from the Diet on Monday morning to take responsibility for the problems he caused by staying out late at night at a Tokyo hostess club with an acquaintance during the current state of emergency.

After delivering his resignation to House of Representatives Speaker Tadamori Oshima, Toyama held a press conference in the Diet Building, saying: “I would like to sincerely apologize for my extremely inappropriate behavior that has deeply damaged trust in politics. After careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that I should gracefully resign from the Diet.”

He indicated that he would not run in the next House of Representatives election.

On Jan. 26, it was reported that Toyama had been at a club in the Ginza district until late at night on Jan. 22. Then on Jan. 29, it was revealed that Toyama’s fund management organization had paid out about ¥110,000 for five instances of eating and drinking at hostess bars and other such establishments in 2019, leading him to resign from his post as acting secretary general of Komeito.

Toyama was first elected to the House of Councillors in 2001. In the middle of his second term in the upper house, he ran for election to the House of Representatives, where he was serving his fourth term, and has served as parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs and state minister of finance.