Protest Against Ldp Lawmaker's Sex Crime Remarks
About 200 victims of sexual crimes and their supporters gathered in central Tokyo to call on a lawmaker to resign and retract her claim that women can tell lies about sexual assaults.
Sugita Mio, a Liberal Democratic Party member of the Lower House, said at a meeting of party lawmakers last month that "women can tell lies as much as they want."
She initially denied making the remark, but apologized in a blog post on Thursday after LDP policy chief Shimomura Hakubun gave her a verbal warning.
The group behind the "Flower Demo" to protest sexual crimes held a rally on Saturday at Tokyo Station.
Carrying flowers, many said telling lies does not benefit victims at all.
Others said remarks like Sugita's can silence vulnerable people and give a boost to offenders.
The group ran an online petition on the issue, attracting about 130,000 signatures that it is asking the LDP to accept.
