"Working at Entertainment Venues to Repay Student Loans"
People's Democratic Party "Will Explain After Clarifying Facts"
A former announcer who graduated from a prestigious Japanese university and is preparing to run for election claimed that she was asked by her party not to run due to her past experience working at entertainment establishments.
According to Japanese media Daily Sports on the 25th, Takahashi Mari (高橋茉莉) posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account that day, "I was told by the Democratic Party for the People to 'give up running' in the Tokyo 15th district by-election, and with tears in my eyes, I decided to withdraw."
Takahashi Mari graduated from the prestigious Keio University in Japan. She became an announcer after participating in the Miss Keio and Miss Japan contests and worked as an announcer for three years. She later also worked as a talent (TV personality).
Regarding the request to cancel her candidacy, Takahashi said, "It is because of my past working at a lounge (a type of Japanese entertainment establishment). I experienced livelihood protection (a welfare support system) and worked hard to graduate from Keio University with a scholarship. However, since I still had a lot of repayment left, I worked at a lounge for a while to pay it off as soon as possible."
Takahashi said, "If I cannot run because of that, does it mean that women who work hard from the bottom can never even challenge themselves in their lifetime?" and added, "I will leave the Democratic Party for the People as of today."
However, she added that she wants to continue her political activities, saying, "I want to create a society where people can live without worrying about money and feel secure."
In response, Japanese netizens posted various opinions, ranging from "Why is working at an entertainment establishment a problem?" to "I think such issues are natural when running for public office."
As the controversy grew, Democratic Party for the People leader Tamaki Yuichiro explained, "We never asked her to give up running because of working at a lounge. There were concerns about legal violations. After clarifying the facts, we will provide an official explanation during the week."
Takahashi’s post has since been deleted.
Meanwhile, in South Korea, on October 12, 2020, trot singer Kwon Do-woon came out and said, "I want to participate in social activities to promote LGBTQ+ rights, and I thought joining the Justice Party would be the first step," and joined the Justice Party. However, in April of the following year, he confessed to visiting an entertainment establishment and subsequently left the party.
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