Politician Takaya Muto “paid for sex with underage man”

Takaya Muto has already been forced to resign over a money scandal.

Now he might have to contend with a sex scandal too.

The 36-year-old Lower House member of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party already made a lot of enemies when he took to Twitter to brand activists protesting against the government’s immensely controversial state security bills as “selfish” and “fooled” by “propaganda and false information”.

That was late July.

Fast-forward a few weeks and Muto is not looking so smug now.

He has been forced to quit his party after tabloid Shukan Bunshun exposed possible financial improprieties about the Shiga Prefecture politico.

According to the latest issue of weekly Shukan Bunshun, Muto raised ¥41 million from 23 investors by saying he planned to buy unlisted stocks of a software company to log profits.

But one of Muto’s secretaries misappropriated about ¥8 million and Muto has not returned about ¥7 million that he owes to six out of the 23 investors, an unnamed source, who was identified as an acquaintance of Muto’s, told the weekly

Muto has denied the claims and says he won’t resign his seat.

But the tabloids and much of the Internet have got it in for the baby-faced lawmaker.

Shukan Bunshun has now alleged that Muto paid for sex… with an underage man!

The two romeos apparently met through a gay matchmaking site and the man claims Muto paid him ¥20,000 ($170) for sex in last November.

They met around 20 times, including at the lawmaker’s official residence.

Muto denied the allegation and even knowing the unnamed man when the tabloid tried to get a comment. (Muto also banned Shukan Bunshun from his press conference today when he reiterated his refusal to resign.)

However, the tabloid also claims that the next day the man received a phone call from Muto and messages on LINE telling him to keep his mouth shut. Muto called the man his “slave” in the online exchange.

Paying for sex is not illegal per se in Japan, though pimping is. And in fact, gay prostitution is not even covered under the law, according to some interpretations.

However, this man was technically a minor (under 20). While the age of consent is actually ambiguous in Japan, in this case the allegations, if proved true, could cause some serious trouble for ambitious politician’s career.