Japanese paternity-leave MP quits over affair with model that began days before wife gave birth

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Japanese lawmaker Kensuke Miyazaki of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, bows during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday after admitting having an affair less than a week before his son’s birth. Photo: Kyodo / AP

Published: 1:05pm, 12 Feb 2016Updated: 1:05pm, 12 Feb 2016

A married Japanese ruling party lawmaker who earned praise for taking paternity leave to help his wife with their new baby has resigned in disgrace after it was revealed he struck up an affair with a model less than a week before the birth.

Kensuke Miyazaki bowed repeatedly and apologised profusely at a news conference broadcast live on Japanese television on Friday.

“I did something very cruel to my wife who just delivered a baby. I am in deep remorse,” he said, speaking with some difficulty as camera flashes lit up his face.

“To those who took serious interest in the issue of men taking paternity leave, I deeply, deeply apologise,” he said.

Megumi Kaneko is the wife of Kensuke Miyazaki, and is a fellow MP in Japan’s ruling LDP.

The 35-year-old lower house member from Kyoto prefecture had drawn praise in December for saying he would take the rare step of taking time off work to help care for his newborn son, and to help promote women’s rights. His wife is fellow LDP lawmaker Megumi Kaneko.

The debate took an unexpected turn when a magazine reported earlier this week that Miyazaki had started an affair with a model six days before his wife gave birth. He admitted at the news conference that he and the woman had met three times.