Japan city ousts mayor over false school record
The mayor of a seaside city southwest of Tokyo, who was accused of falsifying her educational background, has lost her job after the municipal assembly adopted a second no-confidence resolution against her.
Speaking to reporters after Friday’s vote, Maki Takubo, mayor of Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, declined to say whether she will run in the new mayoral election, which now must be held within 50 days.
For months, the Izu Peninsula city, known for hot springs, had generated news stories and vigorous social media discussion following an allegation that she falsely stated in documents, such as a municipal public relations leaflet, that she graduated from Toyo University.
Takubo later acknowledged, after contacting the private university in Tokyo, that it had removed her before she could graduate. But she maintained that she made the claim while believing she had graduated.
Amid the mounting controversy, the city assembly adopted a no-confidence resolution against her in September. Given the choice between dissolving the assembly and quitting, she chose the former, forcing a new assembly election.
Second take
The city held the election the following month. Most of the newly elected assembly members then indicated their preference for a second no-confidence resolution.
Last Friday, they adopted the resolution 19-1. The resolution criticized Takubo as failing to fully explain herself and causing confusion in city administration.
The resolution also blamed her for choosing to dissolve the assembly and stay in her post, saying the action revealed her lack of fitness as a public officeholder.
