TOKYO: In a blow to Japanese Prime Minister SUGA Yoshihide’s administration, two lawmakers of the ruling coalition, who are under fire for their recent visits to nightclubs amid the coronavirus epidemic, quit their posts in their respective parties on Friday.

Jun Matsumoto resigned from the post of acting chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Diet Affairs Committee, while Kiyohiko Toyama left the office of acting secretary-general of Komeito.

The resignations came as the two parties are concerned that the lawmakers’ scandals could have negative implications for the results of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election set for July 4 and the next House of Representatives poll.

Matsumoto and Toyama drew criticism after their visits to nightclubs in Tokyo’s Ginza entertainment district came to light, at a time when a state of emergency over the epidemic is in place in Tokyo and some other prefectures.

In addition, it was learned Friday that a secretary to Toyama used about 110,000 yen of political funds for payment at a nightclub in 2019.

“I’m really sorry,” Toyama told reporters on Friday. He denied that he intends to resign as a lawmaker, saying, “I’ll make efforts to regain trust while steadily performing my duties as a lawmaker.”

“I apologize from the bottom of my heart,” Matsumoto separately told reporters. Explaining the reason for his resignation from the party post, Matsumoto said his scandal “could badly affect the business of the party and the Diet.”

JIJI Press