田久保市長「私は嘘はついてないです」　”市長派”候補の応援に何度も駆けつけるも結果は完敗　前職は批判「大義ある解散だとは全く思わない」

The Ito City Council election was held following Mayor Maki Takubo's dissolution of the city council. All 18 incumbents were elected, resulting in citizens favoring the council, making Mayor Takubo's loss of office certain. Ito City Mayor Maki Takubo (September 10th): I am hereby notifying you that the city council will be dissolved on September 10th, 2025. Ito City Mayor Maki Takubo (September 10th): I felt that the public should be asked to trust him. Following Mayor Takubo's "academic misrepresentation" scandal, the city council passed a vote of no confidence in him. Following this vote of no confidence, Mayor Takubo chose to dissolve the city council. A total of 30 candidates, including 18 incumbents and 12 newcomers, ran for the 20-seat Ito City Council election. The only issue at stake in this election was whether Mayor Takubo should continue in office. The mayor himself caused chaos, driving the city council into a standstill and bringing city government to a standstill. Perhaps reflecting the sense of crisis among citizens, voter turnout was more than 10 points higher than the previous election. Former city council president Hiromichi Nakajima was re-elected for the fourth time this year. He looked relieved when it was announced that he had been elected. He was elected in 17th place last time. He placed 17th in his first election in 2015, and 18th in his second election, meaning he had been elected in lower positions in each of his previous three city council elections. Ito City Mayor Maki Takubo (July 2025): I look forward to hearing about the content. Ito City Council President Hiromichi Nakajima (July 2025): What is this? Ito City Mayor Maki Takubo (July 2025): This is a response to a request to appear before the 100-Article Committee. Ito City Council Chairman Hiromichi Nakajima (July 2025): I'm not entirely clear from this. This is a serious matter, so please clarify. Following Mayor Takubo's academic fraud scandal, Nakajima, as City Council Chairman, appeared on television and in newspapers every day, significantly increasing his profile. In this election, we were aiming for an unprecedented landslide victory. Former Chairman Hiromichi Nakajima: I really wanted to do my best until the very end, hopefully win a high ranking, and be in a position to call for everyone to issue a vote of no confidence. This time, I received more than double the number of votes compared to last time, coming in second. I was delighted, but I also renewed my determination to take a tough stance against Mayor Takubo. Former Chairman Hiromichi Nakajima: Dissolution without just cause. The mayor chose to dissolve the council. As a former city council president, I would like to take the lead in pushing for a vote of no confidence. Ito City Mayor Maki Takubo: Are you ready to fight?! Newcomer Motoyuki Katagiri: This reform must never be stopped. Meanwhile, newcomer Motoyuki Katagiri is the only candidate in this election who openly supports Mayor Takubo. Mayor Takubo has frequently attended street speeches and rallies for Katagiri, who lost in the last city council election, and even held the microphone. On the other hand, there were also scenes like this during the election... Ito City Citizen: It's a disgrace for Ito. Do you know the word "takubo-ru"? Ito City Mayor Maki Takubo: Yes, I know. Ito City Citizen: A liar. Citizens will vigorously pursue Mayor Takubo's "academic misrepresentation" issue. Ito Citizen: Because you lied. Ito City Mayor Takubo Maki: No, I didn't lie. Ito City Mayor: But the part about falsifying my academic background is a lie, right? Ito City Mayor Takubo Maki: I didn't lie. I didn't lie. They continued to talk after the street speech, but the discussion was going nowhere. Still, some people asked Mayor Takubo for his autograph, and Katagiri continued to appeal to him, hoping to secure the votes of those who support the mayor. The result was... He won with over 1,300 votes, coming in 9th place. He said he would work with Mayor Takubo to reform city government. Newcomer Motoyuki Katagiri: I believe there are people who support Mayor Takubo's reforms, so I would like to tackle local issues while taking that into consideration. The city budgeted 63 million yen for the unusual city council election that Mayor Takubo chose to hold as a "test of public trust." Some residents questioned whether it was necessary, but Mayor Takubo, who chose to dissolve the council, said... Ito City Mayor Maki Takubo (October 12): Elections are an important system in democracy that expresses public opinion, so I wonder if it's really a waste of money. On the other hand, all 18 former candidates who ran in the 20-seat city council election were re-elected. Mayor Takubo's loss of office is certain. Former Vice-Chairman Takahiro Aoki: The results (of the city council election) were pretty much the same. All of the current (former) members remain. (Mayor Taku...