Japan PM Kishida slams ruling party event with scantily-clad dancers

BBC News:

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has slammed a gathering of ruling party members last November that involved scantily-clad dancers.

Leaked footage of the event, organised by a chapter of the Liberal Democratic Party, showed women in swimwear sitting on participants’ laps, reports said.

The event was “highly inappropriate and most regrettable”, said Mr Kishida when grilled by lawmakers on Friday.

At least one of the event organisers has since resigned from the party.

The women, who are reportedly part of the Osaka and Kyoto-based Glamor Dancers troupe, were asked to use their mouths to receive banknotes hanging from participants’ mouths, claimed local media reports.

The event was attended by members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)’s youth division in the western city of Wakayama.

One of the organisers, Tetsuya Kawabata, had earlier sought to defend the event by saying that the presence of the “go-go dancers” – referring to dancers employed to entertain crowds in nightclubs – were intended to ensure “diversity”.