COUNCILOR LOSES SEAT AFTER ACCUSING JAPAN MAYOR OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

Residents of a small town in central Japan have overwhelmingly voted to remove the local council's only female member after she accused the mayor of sexual assault, Yoko Wakatsuki, Jessie Yeung and Emiko Yozuka reported for CNN.

Shoko Arai, 51, was voted out on Sunday in Kusatsu, which is famous for its natural hot springs and resorts. The dismissal request claimed Arai's allegations had "degraded" the women of the Gunma prefecture town. In total, 92% of votes lodged demanded her removal, according to Kusatsu officials. In response, Arai’s ouster was slammed by many Japanese on social media and in calls to the municipal government, saying the vote was “sexist, unfair and uncivilized.”

The controversy began in November last year, when Arai published an e-book claiming she had been forced into a sexual relationship with the town's mayor, Tadanobu Kuroiwa. A motion to fire the mayor was voted down, and Arai was expelled from the assembly a month later. However, the expulsion was appealed, and ultimately reversed by the prefecture.

After she was reinstated, a group of 19 residents led by council chairman Takashi Kuroiwa sent a dismissal request to the council, prompting the residential referendum that unseated Arai last weekend. The dismissal request also claimed that Arai's statements to media about the assault allegations had hurt Kusatsu's reputation. It pointed to several specific remarks Arai had made, including ones that town women were "treated as objects," and that women often became mistresses to powerful male resort owners to gain privileges. The request pointed out that the mayor had denied the allegations, and Arai's salary as a council member was a "waste" of taxpayer money. In an official response to the council, Arai said the mayor and other council members calling for her removal were the ones damaging the town's dignity and reputation.