LDP's Mio Sugita loses upper house seat after backlash over discriminatory remarks
The 58-year-old ran for the first time in the upper house proportional representation race, where 50 seats were up for grabs, as a candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Despite campaigning on issues such as strengthening the national security policy, preserving traditional Japanese values and amending the Constitution, questions were raised about her qualifications as a lawmaker.
Sugita had previously been elected three times in the lower house proportional representation bloc. However, she was suspended from party positions for six months in April 2024 due to her involvement in a slush fund scandal within LDP factions. She later withdrew her candidacy for the lower house election in October that year.
Sugita has been the subject of controversy for discriminatory online posts about South Korean residents in Japan and the indigenous Ainu people.
At the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women held in Switzerland in 2016, she took photos of participating South Korean and Ainu women without their permission and posted the images on her blog with comments including "old women cosplaying in ethnic costumes" and "frankly speaking, they're shabby."
In 2023, the Osaka and Sapporo legal affairs bureaus recognized her statements as human rights violations. As a result, her endorsement by the LDP in the latest upper house election sparked protests from civil society groups.
LDP President and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in March 2025 that he felt "a strong sense of discomfort" about Sugita's past discriminatory remarks. However, he suggested there was no problem with her endorsement, saying, "It's ultimately my call."
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