Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who recently clashed with city employees and human rights lawyers over his "tattoo inquisition," has disturbed commentators again this week with his comments about human rights and personal privacy.

At a meeting attended by 22 newly appointed ward mayors in Osaka on Monday, Hashimoto reportedly told attendees, "I want you to consider your lifestyle and behavior differently now than before you became a public servant," TV Asahi reported.

"I want each of you to see yourself as a person who now has no personal privacy and no fundamental human rights. I won't investigate what you did before you became a public servant; the battle begins once you take on the position," he told the successful applicants, TV Asahi reported.

The ward mayors are due to take office in August.

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