Photo/Illutration Junichi Wakabayashi, right, a city assembly member of Usuki, Oita Prefecture, in February (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A local assembly member in Usuki, Oita Prefecture, who spread misinformation about COVID-19 and repeatedly refused to mask up, lost his seat in the April 24 municipal election.

And not by a little.

Junichi Wakabayashi, 62, came dead last out of 21 candidates running for 18 seats.

Wakabayashi has long been a thorn in the side of the local assembly, to the point that it had formally asked him to step down over his anti-mask behavior.

Usuki city assembly members had made a rule that they must all wear masks during their meetings as an infection-prevention measure during the pandemic.

But Wakabayashi refused to do so during a session in September 2021. And when he did wear one, he did not properly cover his nose.

The chair reminded him of the rule and gave him a warning, but Wakabayashi did not comply and ditched the meeting.

He soon found that without wearing the mask, he could not speak there at all. The assembly censured him with a gag order during sessions.

Wakabayashi said the decision to ban him from speaking “based on the way (I wear) a mask violates (my) freedom of expression.”

He filed a lawsuit against the assembly and the city government at the Oita District Court to nullify the decision.

His opposition to masks was not limited to city assembly meetings. 

Complaints started coming into the city from residents who were upset that Wakabayashi was going door-to-door delivering fliers without wearing a mask.

Some of the fliers claimed that “the novel coronavirus is not a deadly disease” and that wearing a mask “has adverse health effects.”

He handed out the fliers around schools and train stations as well.

On Sept. 30, 2021, the city assembly passed a resolution urging Wakabayashi to resign.

He did not, and clung to office for another half a year.

The voters ultimately made the decision for him.

Wakabayashi, who is not affiliated with any party, received only 465 votes--a significant drop from the 1,334 votes he netted in the last election, when he came in third out of 22 candidates.

He showed up at a vote-counting place without wearing a mask and watched his fate unfold as he videotaped the process. But when he learned of his serious loss from the early returns from the city board of elections, Wakabayashi made an early exit.

Voter turnout was 63.82 percent. 

The total number of eligible voters on election day was 32,050.

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