Mio Sugita, a Lower House member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is surrounded by reporters on Sept. 30, 2020. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Ruling party lawmaker Mio Sugita was voted the political figure who made the most sexist remark over the past year, defeating former Tokyo Olympic chief Yoshiro Mori.
Sugita, a 53-year-old Lower House member, is known for making offensive comments. But the one that won her the most votes in the online contest came in September 2020, when she said that “women can lie as much as they want” about sexual violence.
That remark was made at a closed-door meeting of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers. After the comment was leaked to the media, Sugita came under heavy criticism.