Japan Communists' drinking ban

The Japanese Communist Party has announced it will reinforce a decades-old drinking ban following an embarrassing sexual harassment scandal.

The pledge was made by the JCP's chairman, Kazuo Shii, when a reporter asked what the party would do to prevent a repeat of May's incident, when a Communist lawmaker harassed a woman at a party.

Mr Shii said the rule, which was drawn up after the party suffered a number of drinking scandals in the 1970s, requires members to notify the party in advance if they are planning to consume alcohol at private functions outside the home.

About 1,000 people are expected to be affected by the ban.

Hideyo Fudesaka, the disgraced party member who resigned his seat last month after admitting to the harassment incident, had been drinking in violation of the rule.

"We cannot allow mistakes under the influence of alcohol to happen anymore," Mr Shii was reported as saying by the Mainichi Shimbun.

He told the paper that the rules still allowed party members to drink at official occasions, but the JCP needed to be notified about private drinking plans.

"The rules sound too severe," Mr Shii said. "However, I think dining out could easily lead to accidents."

The paper said no penalties were attached to the rule.