Kyodo News Agency reported on February 19 that Seiko Hashimoto, chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, met with Toshihiro Nijita, the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan’s ruling party, at the party headquarters on the afternoon of the 19th and submitted an application for withdrawal from the party.
The application will be officially accepted after being examined by the Party Discipline Inspection Commission on the 22nd. Hashimoto will also resign as president of the Hokkaido Branch Federation of the Liberal Democratic Party.
According to the report, in view of the criticism of the opposition party that it should be withdrawn from the perspective of political neutrality, in order to avoid the impact on the Olympic Games and the deliberations of the National Assembly, Hashimoto judged that withdrawing from the party is the best policy.
