On May 25th, caught amidst the controversy regarding his mother�s government welfare payments, comedian Komoto Junichi (37) of the comedic duo Jicho Kacho held a press conference and admitted and apologized for the fact that even though his own income was high, his mother still received government welfare payments.� This is the first time Komoto has spoken about this issue.� His mother, who has received welfare payments for the past ten years, was refused payment in April of this year. �After�consulting social workers, Komoto decided to repay the welfare payments paid out in the past few years in which he�received enough income.

At the start of the press conference, Komoto bowed deeply in apology and stated, �I am extremely sorry for the troubles I have caused.� �His mother had started receiving welfare payments because she became too ill to work, and as Komoto had not been famous nor a celebrity before, their annual income was below �1,000,000 (approximately $12,557 USD).

On top of that, he explained in a few words, �The decision to grant the (welfare payment) was made after discussion with social workers, but now that I think about it, it was overly optimistic.� I will reflect deeply on this.�

He reflected on how his mother kept receiving welfare payments even after he obtained a steady income and stated, �I thought there was no problem to start�financial�support for my mother [by her continuing to receive welfare payments]." However, he also admitted his wrongdoing as he added, �It was deplorable and I was embarrassed by this.� I did not tell anyone. �If I had thought out the issue more, this wouldn't have happened and I wouldn't have gotten my mother in trouble. I apologize to the tax payers who had to take on the burden of these welfare payments.� I apologize to those who have low income and unstable jobs.�

After speaking with the social welfare office in Okayama, where his mother resides, he revealed that he will atone for his misdeed by contributing to the services in some way.

Regarding the issue, House of Councillors members Katayama Satsuki (53) and Seko Hiroshige of the Liberal Democratic Party criticized Komoto and the case of his mother receiving welfare payments despite his high income on their blogs using statements like �Dishonest receipt of welfare payments.�

Source and Image: Sanspo