In a developing story concerning election integrity in Japan, three women have been arrested on allegations of violating election laws, specifically concerning bribery. Among them is 63-year-old Nobuko Irie, a former member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly who ran unsuccessfully in the recent House of Representatives election held on February 8th. It is reported that between late January and early February, they conspired to pay five campaign workers, all women aged in their teens to twenties, a total of 270,000 yen (approximately $2,500) for their services in distributing campaign materials.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department suspects that Irie and her cohorts paid over 450,000 yen in total to at least ten campaign workers, with many being university students and interns from a social media management company. Irie's connections are highlighted through her solicitation of the company’s president, Kyoka Sugawara, to help gather campaign volunteers. The police have begun an independent investigation into the campaign workers who allegedly accepted the payments under suspicions of bribery themselves, as defined by Japan's Public Offices Election Law.

Nobuko Irie's political career included two terms as a metropolitan assembly member from 2017 to 2025, after which she sought a position in the House of Representatives, only to finish fourth among six candidates with around 21,000 votes. Following her electoral defeat, she declared through social media her intention to take a hiatus from her political activities, referencing her regret over the election outcome. This scandal raises significant concerns regarding the transparency and fairness of electoral processes in Japan, shedding light on how financial incentives might compromise the integrity of political campaigning.