Nov 03 (Japan Times) - Senior Democratic Party lawmaker Katsuya Ogawa on Thursday tendered his resignation to the party over an alleged assault of an elementary school girl by his son, who said he intended to molest her.
Ogawa, 54, secretary-general for DP lawmakers in the House of Councillors, submitted the resignation to party leader Kohei Otsuka, who took office on Tuesday.
At a news conference, Ogawa said that he decided to leave the DP as he does not want to cause trouble for the party. He does not plan to resign as a lawmaker and will remain an independent.
According to Ogawa, police telephoned him on Wednesday and told him that they are questioning his son, Yosuke, 21, over suspected assault.
The Saitama Prefectural Police arrested Yosuke, a sophomore at Nihon University, on Thursday for allegedly causing the girl to fall down by grabbing her clothes on a street in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, on the afternoon of Tuesday. The girl, a lower grade student, was on her way home from her elementary school.
According to the police department, Yosuke admitted to the charges, saying that he assaulted the girl with the intention of molesting her.
In the city, two cases occurred on Oct. 20 in which the bodies of elementary school girls were touched, investigative sources said. Yosuke has hinted his possible involvement in the cases and said that he is attracted to elementary school girls in lower grades, the sources said.
Source: ANNnewsCH
