"Women Always Lie"... Japan's Worst Sexist Remark Ranked No.1

Controversy Over Right-Wing Female Lawmaker Skita Mio's Remarks
2nd Place Is Former Chairman Mori's "Meetings with Many Women Take Time"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Over the past year, the "worst sexist remark" made by a Japanese politician was selected as "Women can lie as much as they want."

According to the results of an online survey announced on the 9th by the "Group Against Allowing Sexist Remarks in Public Speech," composed of Japanese university professors, in line with International Women's Day (the 8th), Sugita Mio, a member of the House of Representatives from the Liberal Democratic Party, was chosen as the politician who made the worst sexist remark in the past year.

Out of a total of 6,031 votes, 33.1% (1,995 votes) identified Sugita's problematic remark as the worst sexist comment. Sugita, a second-term proportional representative in the House of Representatives, serves as a director of the right-wing Japanese organization "Association to Make New History Textbooks."

In September last year, during a meeting within the Liberal Democratic Party discussing the expansion of the "One-Stop Support Center" for sexual violence victims, Sugita reportedly said, "Women (who claim to be victims of sexual violence) can lie as much as they want." This was said while arguing that the police should be more actively involved in the counseling work of the support center.

When controversy arose over his remarks due to media reports, he denied them through his blog, stating, "I did not make any remarks intended to demean women as reported." However, at the time, Kyodo News reported that multiple attendees at the meeting confirmed Sugita's statement.

After this remark became known, the civic group "Flower Demo," which campaigns to eradicate sexual violence, launched an online petition demanding the withdrawal of the statement, an apology, and Sugita's resignation from office, causing a stir.

The second worst sexist remark, with 20.2% (1,216 votes), was made by Mori Yoshiro, former chairman of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee. He commented on the issue of increasing female directors at the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) provisional council meeting, saying, "Boards with many women take longer (to conduct meetings)." Mori resigned after his remark sparked controversy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.