A Bathrobe, a Cigarette and a Love Hotel: An Akita Official’s Bizarre Press Conference
It was supposed to be a fairly routine press conference about plans for an AI data center in Akita. Instead, it turned into an unlikely scandal involving a prefectural official, a bathrobe, a cigarette and, as it later emerged, a love hotel. Takahiro Ono, a 55-year-old enterprise attraction promotion supervisor with Akita Prefecture, joined the […] The post A Bathrobe, a Cigarette and a Love…
On August 6, Akita Prefecture official Takahiro Ono participated in a press conference via video, ostensibly to discuss plans for a ¥2 trillion AI data center in Akita city. Keeping his camera off, he claimed he was dressed in "relaxing clothes" due to being on leave. Upon request, Ono turned on his camera, revealing himself in a white bathrobe and smoking a cigarette.
This strange appearance sparked public outrage, leading prefectural head Genetsu Takahashi to issue a public apology on behalf of the prefecture the following day. Ono had purportedly attended the press conference from his home due to illness, but suspicions arose that he was actually speaking from a love hotel, evidenced by the arabesque wallpaper behind him and a woman dressed in a white bathrobe in the background.
Ono subsequently admitted he had been lying about his location, explaining that he feared the hotel's nature would be revealed if he told the truth. He claimed to be at a love hotel, the Dolphin Image, with a female acquaintance, after returning from a business trip to Tokyo. Once suspended for six months and demoted two ranks, Ono's boss, Takahashi, also faced reprimand for improper supervision.
The incident prompted over 100 public complaints and inquiries, prompting Governor Kenta Suzuki to issue a public apology, deploring the "inappropriate conduct by a senior official" and the resulting "great discomfort" to the prefecture's citizens.
Written by urgent.news from Tokyo Weekender's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
