A gaffe-prone lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party apologized Thursday in admitting she had said women might make false reports of sexual violence, a remark that has sparked criticism as insulting to victims and a protest movement online.
LDP House of Representatives member Mio Sugita, who had denied making such a remark, admitted in a blog post Thursday to have said "Women can tell lies as much as they want," during a party gathering last Friday about the government's support program for sexual violence victims.
"I am sorry for offending people by giving the impression that only women lie when lying is not restricted to a gender," she said, while reiterating that she had not intended to discriminate against women. Sugita also said she will not step down as a lawmaker.
The apology came a day after LDP policy chief Hakubun Shimomura admonished her over the matter. Flower Demo, a group organizing a movement against sex crimes, has collected more than 120,000 signatures in an online petition seeking Sugita's apology and resignation over the remark.
"Sugita's statement is inexcusable hate speech that constitutes a form of 'second rape' of victims of sexual violence and which seriously falls short of the sensitivity demanded by the international community," the group said in a statement.
The LDP's response has been somewhat slow and lukewarm, taking five days to issue a verbal warning without penalties. Seiko Noda, LDP executive acting secretary general, turned down a request for a meeting on Tuesday to receive the signatures from Flower Demo members.
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Such behavior has prompted criticism from opposition parties and questions from some LDP members.
Seiko Hashimoto, minister in charge of gender equality and an LDP House of Councillors member, said Tuesday she finds Sugita's remark "very regrettable" and that the ruling party "should have taken appropriate measures."
Jun Azumi, Diet affairs chief of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said Thursday, "Her qualities as a lawmaker are in question. I wonder if the LDP should retain her as a member lawmaker."
A Cabinet Office survey in 2017 showed one in every 20 people have been forced to have sexual intercourse against their will and 56.1 percent of them have not told anyone about it.
It is not the first time Sugita has come under fire for making discriminatory comments.
In 2018, the lawmaker faced criticism for saying in a magazine article that the government should not support same-sex couples because they cannot bear offspring and thus were not "productive."
Sugita was also sued for damages by Shiori Ito, a journalist and symbol of Japan's #MeToo movement, in August for allegedly clicking the "like" icon on several tweets the journalist believes defamed her.
