In the footage, Ms Uchino is shown seated at a table wearing a button-up shirt as she addresses Japanese voters in an anime-style voice.
A female political candidate in Tokyo’s gubernatorial election has sparked controversy by stripping off her clothes on national television. In a bizarre video promoting her campaign, NHK’s Airi Uchino strips down to a tube top and asks viewers if she is “sexy” enough to win votes, reports the New York Post.
The footage shows Ms Uchino sitting at a desk in a button-up shirt and addressing Japanese voters in anime style. She strikes a pose that suggests she is topless and wears a revealing tube top.
”I am very beautiful; please watch my campaign broadcast. Do you think I’m hot?”, she says in a video on X that has gone viral. She also invited viewers to add her on the messaging app LINE, promising to respond to each message personally and deliver the rest of her speech in a nude tube top.
The political stunt has raised eyebrows, with many criticising him for objectifying himself and prioritising his physical appearance over policy and leadership qualities. Many said they were ashamed and some questioned how such a scene could be allowed.
One user wrote, “While it is true that people strive to stand out, our society’s obsession with appearances often rewards strange behaviour, however, those without substance will inevitably fade away over time.”
Another commented, “At this point, they should change the rules…Race has become a spectacle and distracts people from real issues. It’s no different from democracy and all that.” A third one added, “No matter how much we talk about freedom of expression in elections, this is against public interest.”
According to the Mainichi, it appears his unconventional approach did not work as 71-year-old Yuriko Koike won a third consecutive four-year term in the Tokyo gubernatorial election on July 7. Ms Koike became Tokyo’s first female governor in 2016 and will win her second term in 2020.
