While the private sector has taken a zero-tolerance approach to bullying and harassment at work, the same does not hold true in the realm of local politics, where power abuse is commonplace.
Campaigning officially began on April 11 for four Lower House by-elections, with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party trying to retain the three seats its candidates won in the 2021 Lower House election.
Asahikawa Medical University President Akitoshi Yoshida, left, and its affiliated hospital chief, Hiroyuki Furukawa, hold a news conference in Hokkaido in January 2020 over a scandal involving professors. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
ASAHIKAWA, Hokkaido The chief of Asahikawa Medical University Hospital was fired after he revealed a confrontation with the university president over his refusal to accept COVID-19 patients, sources said.
The dismissal of Hiroyuki Furukawa was announced on Jan. 25, when an explanatory meeting was held for employees and other related people at state-run Asahikawa Medical University, the sources said.
The reason given for the termination was that Furukawa leaked information about university meetings to outsiders, the sources said.