Female campaign staff for a political candidate in Japan have stirred controversy after wearing mini-skirts and fishnet stockings while working to gather votes.
Images of the two women circulated widely on social media last week as candidates across the nation campaigned for Japan’s House of Representatives election on 27 Oct.
According to FNN, the two women were seen working on behalf of Masafumi Tabuchi, an independent candidate for Tokyo’s 26th district. Tabuchi, a doctor, and his team wore matching jackets during the campaign.
Source: @arisu_haname on X
The attire of two staff members, however, drew extra attention — one wore a mini-skirt that barely covered her bottom, while the other sported fishnet stockings.
Their outfits quickly became a trending topic online, with one X post amassing nearly 20 million views and around 2,000 comments.
Source: @You_Wasureruna on X
Translation: This is cheating. The perverted votes have guaranteed him victory.
While some users poked fun at the strategy as an appeal to male voters, others found the choice of attire disrespectful to the election process.
One said the independent politician was sure to win votes from “perverted” men.
Asked about the controversy, Tabuchi told local media that his team was instructed to wear yellow-green jackets for the campaign, but no specific dress code was set for their lower attire.
He claimed he “had no idea” about their choice of outfits until later, adding that his staff reportedly scrambled to ask the women to adjust their outfits.
Tabuchi added, however, that he couldn’t dictate what they chose to wear, as they were invited through his acquaintances and had shown up to his campaign as volunteers.
Local media also interviewed the women, who emphasised that their attire was entirely their own choice and not the doctor’s doing.
One woman, who described herself as a former adult film actress, said she likes wearing revealing clothing.
Another said it was simply because the weather was hot, and she was “used to wearing fishnet stockings”.
When asked why they joined Tabuchi’s campaign, the women said it was because he is “kind and a gentleman”.
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Featured image adapted from @You_Wasureruna on X and @arisu_haname on X.
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