Mari Takahashi, who was once selected as the Democratic Party for the People's official candidate in the April by-election for the Tokyo 15th district of the House of Representatives, but was later revoked, was found collapsed on the grounds of her apartment in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on the 4th of this month, and was confirmed dead at the hospital. The circumstances at the scene suggest that it was a suicide. Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, posted a comment on his X on the 9th about her death.

Takahashi was a Miss Keio finalist and was also selected as a finalist in the Miss Japan East Japan regional competition.

[Full text below]

We would like to express our condolences on the passing of Mari Takahashi.

I had the honour of meeting Mari Takahashi during the by-election in Tokyo's 15th district, and although her endorsement was revoked, I continued to worry about her and was relieved to see her doing well on social media from time to time. That is why I am so shocked by the sudden news of her passing and cannot help but feel deeply saddened.

This time, I wondered whether I should address this issue directly on X.

We have carefully considered how the bereaved families and those involved, who are likely deeply grieving the loss, would feel about information being spread so widely, and also, given that the published articles also included details about suicide methods, and in light of WHO guidelines and other factors, we have decided not to directly comment on the matter.

However, we have received feedback and guidance from many people that this way of communicating is inappropriate, so we have decided to delete the previous post.

Once again, I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to Ms. Mari Takahashi. It is truly unfortunate.

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