Supporters who attended the campaign launch of former farm minister Wataru Yanagi on the day the 2024 lower house election was called were handed towel-style headbands, and none is known to have paid for them, Kyodo News reported.
The event was held in his home district of Otawara, Tochigi Prefecture, on October 15, 2024. According to multiple people connected to the campaign, attendees were given the headbands at the reception desk, and many took them home.
One supporter who received a headband told Kyodo News it was not collected and was taken home. Free headbands were also distributed during the 2026 lower house election, and calls for an explanation are likely to grow.
Election law and the gift ban
The Public Offices Election Act bans candidates from giving goods to voters for the purpose of winning an election. The Tochigi Prefectural Election Administration Commission declined to comment on the individual case.
The commission said distributing headbands would count as a donation, meaning a provision of financial benefit, and that it would tell any candidate who asked to refrain. The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said such matters are judged on the specific facts.
Kyodo News sought comment from Yanagi's office on the circumstances and had received no reply as of Tuesday.
Pressure builds in Tochigi
The allegations have already drawn attention in Yanagi's home prefecture. The Nakagawa town assembly in Tochigi passed a resolution demanding an explanation from the former minister.
Yanagi left the farm ministry post after remarks about subsidies. Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Takeshi Iwaya said the subsidy rate in Yanagi's district was higher than in his own constituency.