The Fate of Japanese Official Who Attended Online Press Conference in a Bathrobe from a Love Hotel

Online Press Conference Held from Love Hotel With Woman Who Was Not His Spouse
Six-Month Suspension and Demotion by Two Ranks for False Explanations

A senior official from a Japanese local government has been heavily disciplined after attending an official online press conference in a bathrobe from a love hotel, accompanied by a woman who was not his spouse, and even smoking a cigarette during the event. Although he initially claimed that he had been resting at home due to poor health, this too was revealed to be a lie. On August 18, Japanese media outlets including Fuji News Network (FNN) and Akita TV reported that, on August 14, Akita Prefecture handed down a six-month suspension and a two-rank demotion to Takahiro Ono (55), Director of Corporate Attraction Promotion in the Department of Industrial Labor.

The incident began at a press briefing held by Akita Prefecture on the 6th regarding the large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) data center construction plan. Ono, who attended online from outside, initially participated in the conference with his camera turned off. FNN

The incident began at a press briefing held by Akita Prefecture on August 6 regarding the large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) data center construction plan. Ono, who attended the briefing online from outside, initially participated with his camera turned off. When a prefectural government employee asked him to turn on his camera, he replied, "Do I need the camera?" before switching it on. Appearing on the screen, Ono was wearing an outfit that resembled a bathrobe. During the conference, he was caught smoking and was also seen laughing while conversing with someone nearby.

As the controversy grew, Ono initially explained in the prefecture’s investigation that he was not feeling well, was resting at home, and had unconsciously smoked a cigarette while in pajamas. However, a follow-up investigation by Akita Prefecture completely reversed the situation. The prefecture found that, around noon that day, Ono had returned to Akita by plane after a business trip to Tokyo but did not go to the prefectural office. Furthermore, the location from which he accessed the online briefing was not his home.

Akita Prefecture officially described the location as "a facility primarily provided for the accommodation of guests accompanied by partners of the opposite sex." Japanese local broadcasters reported that this was a love hotel. Moreover, the person present with Ono was found to be a woman who was not his spouse. His false explanation also contributed to the severity of the disciplinary action. According to Akita Prefecture, Ono stated that he hesitated to disclose the actual location because of the nature of the facility and believed that the truth would not come to light even if he lied. The prefecture also took issue with the fact that he continued to provide false explanations after the initial press briefing on August 7.

Problems were also identified in the handling of his leave of absence. Initially, the prefecture explained that Ono was on leave at the time; however, it was revealed that he only applied for leave for August 6 after the online press conference had ended, and that the prefecture approved it retroactively. Akita Prefecture determined that his actions—responding inappropriately to an official briefing in an unsuitable location and attire, smoking during the event, and repeatedly providing false explanations afterward—greatly damaged public trust in the civil service, and therefore imposed a six-month suspension. At the same time, finding him unsuitable for a managerial position, the prefecture demoted him by two ranks from Director of Corporate Attraction Promotion to a regular staff position.

This scandal has drawn even more attention because Ono was a key executive in Akita Prefecture's major AI data center project.

Previously, Akita Prefecture had signed an agreement last year with IT company Bitgrit for the construction of an AI data center. If completed, this center is expected to be one of the largest AI data centers in Japan.

As a result, the incident escalated and Ono has now been removed from all duties related to the AI data center project. According to Akita TV, as of 8:30 a.m. on August 14, a total of 145 protests and comments related to this incident had been submitted to the prefectural government. The controversy that began with the "bathrobe press conference" has now expanded to issues including his stay at a love hotel, the presence of a woman who was not his spouse, the post-factum leave request, and repeated false explanations, sparking a broader debate on discipline within Japan’s local civil service.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.