A Japanese politician is facing an investigation after being reported to her council for making remarks about the attire and identity of a trans-identified male activist. Hiromi Muramatsu, an independent member of Kofu City Council in Yamanashi Prefecture, has been targeted by activists for being critical of gender ideology in the past.
Muramatsu, a former special-needs school teacher who was first elected in 2023, announced the complaint on her X earlier this week, linking to a local news article detailing that Gifu-based LGBTQ+ activist organization submitted a formal request to the council chairperson alleging that her X posts were transphobic. The organization wants the council to establish the circumstances surrounding the comments and determine whether they violated its political ethics regulations.
The posts brought to the attention of the council were related to a trans-identified male named Sessai Tanaka, a professional activist from Gifu Prefecture who began identifying as a “woman” around age 60.
Now 79, he is known for regularly wearing miniskirts while giving lectures to university and nursing students about LGBTQ+ issues. Tanaka has also been invited to give lectures at women’s institutions, such as the Ogaki Women’s College, where he reportedly spoke about fashion and makeup.
A recent newspaper profile of Tanaka featured the headline “Thirty centimeters above the knee — this is me,” a reference to how short he likes to wear his skirts and dresses. Photographs included in the profile showed him wearing a short black dress while addressing students, and another outfit featuring a short multicoloured dress and knee-high boots.
His appearance has attracted criticism online in notably modest Japan, with some questioning whether his clothing was appropriate, particularly when giving lectures to students. Muramatsu entered the discussion by sharing an older newspaper photograph of Tanaka and commenting that senior women generally do not wear miniskirts like he does.
In a subsequent post, Muramatsu defended her remarks: “It’s fine to wear micro-mini skirts, but I question the idea that this person is a woman at heart.”
Muramatsu noted that her comments represented her opinion rather than a personal attack, adding: “I’m not ridiculing anyone. It’s a general opinion.” In another post, she argued: “Suppressing debate is not democracy.”
On November 9, Gifu Passport (ぎふ・ぱすぽーと), a Gifu-based transgender and LGBTQ+ activist group co-represented by Tanaka, sent a written submission to the chairperson of Kofu City Council requesting an investigation into Muramatsu’s social media posts and an inquiry into whether they violated the council’s political ethics regulations.
Kofu City Council has a formal mechanism for investigating alleged breaches of its political ethics rules. Those rules require councillors to exercise responsibility and awareness of their public status when making statements or publishing information, and prohibit conduct that damages the dignity and honor of their office.
Under Kofu’s regulations, an ethics committee finding a violation can recommend a formal warning and written pledge to comply with the rules, suspension from council positions, measures concerning the councillor’s resignation, or a formal investigation under Article 100 of Japan’s Local Autonomy Act.
This is the second time Muramatsu has been targeted by trans activists.
In a previous incident, a transgender novelist sued Muramatsu after claiming she had “outed” him as transgender.
Li Kotomi, a biological male who identifies as a “lesbian female,” sought ¥5.5 million (approximately. $34,000 USD) in damages and removal of Muramatsu’s posts. Kotomi argued that the councillor had exposed “highly sensitive personal information,” invaded his privacy and damaged his reputation.
In November 2025, a Kofu council ethics committee concluded that Muramatsu’s social media activity concerning Kotomi had damaged the dignity and standing expected of a councillor. It unanimously determined that her conduct violated the council’s political ethics standards and called for a warning and a written pledge to prevent further violations.
Muramatsu had refused to attend the committee proceedings, arguing that the process could not guarantee fairness. The committee nevertheless proceeded and adopted its decision. Some members reportedly considered a recommendation that she resign, although the measure ultimately adopted was a warning and demand for a written pledge.
On October 29, 2026, the Tokyo District Court ruled in Kotomi’s favor in the civil suit, and ordered Muramatsu to pay ¥1.1 million (approx. $6,800 USD) in damages. The court found that publicly stating Kotomi’s biological sex unlawfully violated his privacy and that there was “no reasonable justification” for making the information public. Muramatsu appealed on November 5, so the civil case remains ongoing.
As previously reported by Reduxx, Kotomi is a prolific litigant, and has initiated defamation proceedings against at least nine individuals over approximately two years, most of them women who had referred to Li as male or questioned his identification as a lesbian. Most of the litigation has taken place in Kotomi’s home nation of Taiwan, where he changed his legal sex marker before moving to Japan and adopting a Japanese name.
In addition to using the courts to seek financial compensation, Kotomi has also sought criminal penalties for those he accuses of “offending” his gender identity. One case involved a Taiwanese man in his forties whom Kotomi claimed had been convicted of spreading “false rumors” and insulting him on social media. According to Kotomi’s own account, he received a four-month prison sentence and was ordered to pay approximately ¥ 700,000 (approx. $4,300 USD) in civil compensation.