politics

Diet to punish Inoki over his trip to N Korea

25 Comments

Former pro wrestler Antonio Inoki, who is now a lawmaker in the upper house, faces disciplinary action in the Diet for making an unauthorized trip to North Korea last week.

Inoki, who belongs to the opposition Japan Restoration Party, visited North Korea Nov 713. He said the visit was to promote sports and cultural exchanges between the two countries and he opened an office for his non-profit organization while he was there.

On Wednesday, the ruling Liberal-Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the New Komeito Party, the Democratic Party of Japan, Your Party and the Japanese Communist Party, submitted a censure motion against Inoki, Sankei Shimbun reported.

The Japan Restoration Party has already taken action, suspending Inoki for 50 days.

The last time the upper house approved a disciplinary motion was in 1950, Sankei reported.

Inoki visited North Korea numerous times during his wrestling career, but lawmakers need Diet permission to make overseas visits.

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25 Comments
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Blessed are the peacemakers.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Punishment should be sending Inoki to promote friendship with Japan and /North Korea. When S. Korea hates Japan, I think, befriending with N, Korea sounds better,

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

i'm of two minds on this. what's inoki's real motive for going to NK? is he doing this to feed his ego or to really promote peace? he seems to love the adulation that he receives every time he visits.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Maybe it is the diet that needs to be punished.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

Red tape and the people that move to shove rules down your face

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Antonio Inoki will slap them back. They better run. He's got a very scary slap!

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

OK lets look at this from a different angle...

How has Inoki's visit to NK harmed Japan? How has Inoki's visit to NK helped Japan?

Inoki and Dennis Rodman both did the same thing to promote sport, except Rodman is not a lawmaker. They both got heat for it but they both put their lives at risk going there to do something positive.

How come when anyone goes to NK for the better, they all get looked down upon?

Kudos Inoki!

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

@gogo, Red tape and the people that move to shove rules down your face. yes unfortunatley Japan has to be one of the best at doing that

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Antonio Inoki will slap them back. They better run. He's got a very scary slap!

I doubt it, because Abe's advisor Isao Iijima looks stronger than Inoki !!!

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Inoki made the cardinal sin of jeopardizing Japan's victimhood industry.

-4 ( +6 / -10 )

Maybe Inoki and Taro Yamamoto should form a tag team and take on the Diet geezers in an electrified ring death match. Seeing as the Diet seems more interested in maintaining "discipline" than actually improving the state of things.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Must not forget that his pro wrestling mentor was Rikidozan, the Korean-born Japanese wrestling super hero, and that Rikidozan's relatives still work in North Korea.

Quote from Wiki: "Rikidōzan's son-in-law, Bak Myeong-cheol, is the member of National Defence Commission of North Korea since around the early 2009 while Bak Myeong-cheol's younger sister is the vice secretary of the Light Industry Division of the Workers' Party of Korea."

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Former pro wrestler Antonio Inoki, who is now a lawmaker in the upper house...>

The Diet is to have us believe they had no knowledge on the Mr. Inoki whereabouts?? This Diet needs to be on "Weight Watch !!"

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"Im of two minds on this. what's inoki's real motive for going to NK?"

Is Inoki of Korean descent? There are many zainich talento in Japan, one famous comedian is Korean as are many singers.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I am more and more convinced that north korean leader is evil rich smart and powerful man. Only this year, I beginning to see if there's unification, it could be s korea merging to north.

I also see possibility that when fake oppressive communist in china is toppled, some will run to north korea.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

...lawmakers need Diet permission to make overseas visits.

They need permission? Free people need permission to leave their nation. What for? Remnants of the Sakoku, perhaps? Feels very old-fashioned.

Inoki should be able to go wherever the hell he wants without being punished by the ignorant old grumps in the Diet as if he was some naughty school boy. Japan, the land of serfs.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

but lawmakers need Diet permission to make overseas visits.

This rule is the problem, not Inoki. A lawmaker must be free to go anywhere without the approval of his fellows (or even worse, the majority?).

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Dumb Inoki. No common sense at all.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

i'm of two minds on this. what's inoki's real motive for going to NK? is he doing this to feed his ego or to really promote peace?

It doesn't matter. He doesn't make Japanese foreign policy. He should be censured.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Japanese Constitution exceeds any other rules. This is just copy, not my opinion. Article 51 members of both House shall not be held liable outside House for speechs, debate or vote cast inside the house.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why punish him? Did he forget to slap Kim-bo?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Inoki's North Korea voyage is the violation of a rule to which the House of Councilors was opposed. It's Sports exchange for self profits. This is worst duality diplomacy. The lover woman was together.

The purpose is a sake of the show business rights of sport-combative limitation.

Solution of the Japanese kidnapping problem according to North Korea, for impossible at him.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I think he got punished more because he slipped away from Diet session. His own party punished. I don;t mind if he promote marathon, ice skating, swimming, etc, But he is promoting bloody wrestling and MMA. Culture? Communist Party wanted to punish him.. .

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I like the idea that he is trying to promote peace and what not. But, there has to be a balance in things. He is a law maker and knows the rules. He can't just go there without permission like that. Too often these celebrity turned politicians just act on a whim.... Like the dude that gave the emperor a letter.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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