Some Japanese lawmakers have recently been found to have employed local assembly members as their state-paid secretaries, including one who failed to follow a necessary procedure.
A related law prohibits state-paid secretaries from holding other jobs in principle. But they are allowed to do so if lawmakers judge that holding other jobs will not affect the performance of their duties as secretaries, and to report such cases to parliament.
House of Representatives lawmaker Taku Ikeshita of the Nippon Ishin no Kai did not report to parliament that he employed a city assembly member in his constituency in Osaka Prefecture as a secretary.