Junichi Wakabayashi, center, who has filed a lawsuit against the Usuki Municipal Government and its assembly, is pictured at the Oita citizens general legal office in the city of Oita on the morning of Nov. 22, 2021. (Mainichi)
USUKI, Oita -- A local assemblyman who has filed a lawsuit against mask mandates failed to wear one during a regular meeting of the city assembly on Nov 30, and then refused an order to leave the chamber.
Junichi Wakabayashi, a member of the Usuki Municipal Assembly has named the city and its assembly in his lawsuit arguing that being forced to wear a mask and being prohibited from making statements without one is illegal.
During the first day of the December regular meeting on Nov. 30, Assembly Speaker Kaoru Hikida ordered Wakabayashi four times to put on a mask and twice to leave the chamber, but he didn't comply.
At a meeting of the assembly rules and administration committee held during recess, it was decided to prioritize the operation of the assembly for the public interest, and proceedings continued with Wakabayashi still in his seat.
In response to Wakabayashi's lawsuit, the city has proposed a supplementary budget with 770,000 yen (about $6,790) in additional general account funds to cover legal expenses. At the assembly's budget committee, committee chairman Eiji Tobiki also asked Wakabayashi five times to put on a mask and twice to leave the chamber, but he refused.
Assembly Speaker Hikida stated, "We have not permitted him to refrain from wearing a mask. As he has been ordered to leave the chamber, Mr. Wakabayashi will be deemed to be absent from his seat. If he is not wearing a mask, he will not be permitted to pose questions."
Wakabayashi, meanwhile, commented that he didn't think not wearing a mask constituted grounds for being expelled from the chamber. "I'm sorry the city has to use tax funds in the lawsuit, but there is no other option to make myself understood," he said.
(Japanese original by Chikashi Eto, Saiki Local Bureau)
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