♢ Mr. Hashimoto’s past of earning commissions from “illegal” sex industry
Toru Hashimoto, the incumbent mayor of Osaka City, made his controversial statements that comfort women were “necessary at that time” and he encouraged US military in Okinawa to utilize sex-related business, which have got so much media attention with lingering effect for over 10 days for now. Mr. Hashimoto made his statements on May 14th on his own Twitter account as a response to sharp criticism to his idea of utilizing sex industry for U.S. troops on Okinawa.