He ran in House of Councillors election in 2010 as a proportional candidate of the Sunrise Party of Japan.
[1] He was not expected to win a seat, as he had been placed in 35th position on the LDP's proportional representation ticket for the Minami-Kanto bloc.
Sugimura was reprimanded by LDP executives for his comments, and publicly apologised at a news conference on September 27, 2005, saying they had been "immature and irresponsible".
[1][2][3] Sugimura is a character in a satirical mahjong manga Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku.
Sugimura announced his engagement with Aya Kazama (風間文) on March 14, 2006, and their daughter was born on April 4, 2007.