Former secretary to Koichi Hagiuda arrested over drunken driving

JIJI
June 17, 2024

Police on Monday arrested a 33-year-old former secretary to ex-Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Koichi Hagiuda for allegedly drinking and driving the day before in Tokyo.

Toshiaki Otake, who is a member of the Hachioji city assembly in Tokyo, acknowledged to investigators that he had been drinking but didn’t remember driving under the influence.

According to investigators, Otake is suspected of driving a car from his home in Hachioji to a convenience store in the city on Sunday night while drunk. A convenience store worker reported to police that someone was drunk in the store’s parking lot.

Toshiaki Otake Handout photo

Otake was subsequently found asleep, leaning against the car hood. When police tested him for alcohol, it showed a reading of three times the minimum level at which a driver is considered to be under the influence.

“I’ve attended a gathering of a local volunteer fire corps I belong to, and had about three bottles of beer,” Otake was quoted as saying to investigators.

He is believed to have returned home from the gathering and then driven to the convenience store.

“I don’t remember why I drove the car and went to the convenience store,” he told police.

According to his website, Otake served as Hagiuda’s secretary for nine years.