Overview
- At her March 19 regular briefing, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said it felt futile to respond and warned that leaders’ words strongly influence women, urging greater care.
- On March 18, Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai told the prefectural assembly that Tottori’s finances are tight and that Tokyo has an “obasan” who implements such measures quickly, a remark understood to refer to Koike.
- Another assembly member immediately questioned whether the phrasing was discriminatory toward women.
- Hirai asked the chair to delete the remark from the official minutes, and no formal apology has been reported in the current coverage.
- The incident echoes a 2018 episode in which Hirai made a Koike-related quip and later apologized after she expressed discomfort.