An elite bureaucrat treated to a luxury dinner in 2019 by Seigo Suga, the eldest son of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, in violation of an ethics code for her position, has refused to step down despite calls from opposition party representatives for her to do so.
Cabinet Public Relations Secretary Makiko Yamada, 60, was found to have been treated to a meal worth ¥74,000 ($700) by the prime minister's son and other officials from Tohokushinsha Film Corp., which runs a satellite broadcasting business.
The engagement was in violation of the ethics code because Yamada was at that time a vice minister for policy coordination at the communications ministry and Seigo Suga was considered a stakeholder in such policy.