Former secretary of Koichi Hagiuda arrested for drunk driving

Police on Monday arrested a 33-year-old former secretary of former Liberal Democratic Party political chief Koichi Hagiuda for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol in Tokyo the previous day.

Toshiaki Otake, a member of the Hachioji city assembly in Tokyo, admitted to investigators that he had been drinking but could not remember driving under the influence.

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

2019-09-14 | Toshiaki Otake’s website / via Jiji

Otake was later found sleeping, leaning against the hood of the car. When police tested him for alcohol, his blood alcohol level was three times the minimum level at which a driver is considered drunk.

“I attended a meeting of the volunteer fire department, of which I am a member, and drank about three bottles of beer,” Otake was quoted as telling investigators.

It is believed that he returned home from the meeting and then drove to the supermarket.

“I don’t remember why I drove to the supermarket,” he told police.

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

Translated by The Japan Times