Liberal Democratic Party House of Representatives member Mio Sugita reportedly said that some women may be lying about sexual assaults at a closed-door party meeting on sexual violence consultations at LDP headquarters on Friday.
Several attendees of the joint meeting of Cabinet and other divisions claim Sugita said, "Women can lie as much as they want" about sexual violence.
Sugita has denied making the remark, but opposition parties are calling for her to withdraw the comment or resign as a lawmaker.
According to the attendees, Sugita was criticizing the methods of the consultation services when she made the remark.
Sugita has denied making "any derogatory comment about women" in a post on her blog.
"This is discrimination against women and it is unacceptable. We strongly demand an apology and retraction of the remark," Akira Koike, head of the Japanese Communist Party's secretariat, said at a press conference Monday. "If she doesn't, we will call for her resignation as a member of the Diet."
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Edano was also critical, saying her comment was "absolutely absurd."
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