The bash held last November featured scantily-clad dancers gyrating on the laps of party bigwigs, with the wild antics captured in leaked footage that has since caused a national uproar.
Kishida condemned the risqué rendezvous as ‘highly inappropriate and most regrettable,’ especially after it was revealed that the dancers, part of the so-called Glamor Dancers troupe from Osaka and Kyoto, were bizarrely tasked with plucking banknotes with their mouths from the lips of attendees.
The saucy soirée, organised by the LDP’s youth division in Wakayama, quickly spiraled out of control, with organiser Tetsuya Kawabata initially claiming the inclusion of go-go dancers was a nod to ‘diversity.’ However, as backlash mounted, Kawabata handed in his resignation, and the LDP’s youth wing issued a groveling apology, with two other MPs stepping down from their divisional roles.
Kishida, grappling with the fallout, stressed that such debauchery starkly contradicts his government’s mission of fostering an inclusive society that respects dignity and diversity. He assured the public that the lewd event was bankrolled by membership fees and not a dime of taxpayer money was squandered on the scandal.
This lascivious lapse is the latest in a series of embarrassments for the LDP, undermining its efforts to shake up Japan’s staid political scene and recruit more women into its ranks. As Kishida’s administration grapples with plummeting approval ratings, this lurid scandal certainly doesn’t help, leaving many to wonder if the party can recover from this latest blow to its image.
 members went viral.){kind=link}