Mayor Yayoi Kimura (58) of Tokyo’s Koto Ward resigned on the 15th, taking responsibility for violating the Public Elections Act by posting paid internet advertisements on YouTube during the April mayoral election. After the October 26 press conference announcing his resignation, he never appeared at the ward office. As the involvement of locally elected Liberal Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives and former Deputy Minister of Justice Miyuki Kakizawa (52) has come to light, residents of the ward have voiced harsh voices over his resignation without explaining his relationship with Mr. Kakizawa.
◆Votes to be counted on December 10th… “same day” as the ward election will be broken down
Yayoi Kimura = October 26th
“It wasn’t clean. As a resident of the ward, it’s a disgrace.” Keiji Maekawa (77) is disappointed. He has served as a voting witness for multiple elections. Considering the ward mayor’s election following Kimura’s resignation (announced on December 3rd, votes counted on December 10th), he said with a sigh, “From now on, the ward mayor’s election and the ward assembly election will be separate. I will have to go to the polling station twice.” It’s mixed.
According to the ward election administration, the cost for April’s ward mayor and assembly elections is approximately 220 million yen. A senior election official said, “Until now, we have only held elections on the same day, and we are still calculating the cost, but I think it will cost more than 100 million yen.” An unemployed man in the ward, 76, was furious, saying, “Once again, ward residents’ tax money is being used.Why are we paying for it ourselves?Mr. Kimura, who has not fulfilled his accountability, should be the one to pay.”
◆ Ward assembly regular meetings are expected to be “suspended” even if they begin.
The ward mayor’s office on the 4th floor of the ward office where Mr. Kimura was working was searched by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Department (Koto Ward, Tokyo)
According to sources, Mr. Kimura has been questioned every weekday, including the 15th, since his house was searched by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Department.
Since July, when this newspaper reported on the problem with paid advertising, the ward has received 111 opinions (as of the 15th). There were 70 opinions critical of Kimura.
The regular ward assembly meeting will open on the 29th, but it is expected to be suspended during the ward mayor election period. Normally, the ward mayor holds a press conference before the opening of the assembly to explain the outline of the budget and major policies, but there are no plans for Deputy Mayor Yoshihiko Otsuka, who serves as the ward mayor’s deputy, to hold a press conference. (Masanori Inoue)
2023-11-15 11:38:21
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