Photo/Illutration Lower House member Mito Kakizawa, right, shakes hands with Koto Ward Mayor Yayoi Kimura on May 1. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Mito Kakizawa, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, resigned as state minister of justice on Oct. 31 for advising a candidate’s campaign staff to use illegal paid internet advertising in a Tokyo ward mayoral election.

“I was not aware that the ad was illegal, but I deeply regret what I did,” Kakizawa, 52, was quoted as telling Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno had instructed Koizumi to address the matter.

The state minister of justice is a deputy of the justice minister.

In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun earlier this month, Kakizawa said he had advised Yayoi Kimura’s campaign staff to run a YouTube advertisement in the Koto Ward mayoral election in April because it is “effective.”

Kimura won the election but resigned on Oct. 26 after her campaign was found to have run a paid internet advertisement calling for votes.

Using such ads featuring a candidate’s name for an election campaign is prohibited under the Public Offices Election Law.

Prosecutors searched the mayor’s office and her home on Oct. 24. Kimura has also been questioned on a voluntary basis.

In the interview, Kakizawa denied any knowledge of the illegality of such ads at the time. He said he became aware of the legal violation after seeing media reports following the election.

Kakizawa, a Lower House member whose constituency represents Koto Ward, also denied any specific involvement in the production or publication of the video ad or bearing the costs.

But he said he had been informed by Kimura’s campaign staff that the internet ad had been published.

He also said the campaign would not have run the ad if he had not recommended it.

Kakizawa, who is in his fifth term, was appointed as state minister of justice in September.

At an Upper House Budget Committee session on Oct. 31, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he feels responsible for appointing Kakizawa to the post because the lawmaker handed in his letter of resignation so soon.

Kakizawa was first elected to the Lower House in 2009 when he ran from Your Party.

He had been in the opposition until he was endorsed by the LDP following his victory in the Lower House election in 2021.

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