静岡しずおか 伊東いとう 田久保たくぼ真紀まき市長しちょう「進退しんたいは31日さんじゅういちにちに会見かいけんで説明せつめい」

Shizuoka Prefecture’s Ito City Mayor Maki Takubo, who is suspected of falsifying her academic background and has indicated her intention to resign, announced that she will hold another press conference on July 31 to explain her future plans.

There are suspicions of falsification of academic background surrounding Mayor Takubo of Ito City. On July 7th, the city council unanimously passed a resolution recommending his resignation. The mayor has indicated that he will promptly resign and plans to run again in the mayoral election.

Mayor Takubo, when asked by reporters about the timing of his resignation at the citys regular press conference on the 28th, indicated that he would hold a press conference on July 31 to announce his intentions regarding his position.

Mayor Takubo said, I would like to hold another press conference to properly organize the facts and then inform you.

In today’s press conference, I can only answer based on the materials I have prepared, so I ask for your understanding.

On the other hand, Mayor Takubo has refused to appear for witness questioning requested by the special investigative committee probing allegations of academic credential fraud. The committee has announced that it will again request the mayor’s appearance, and if he does not comply, it is considering filing criminal charges.

Regarding his refusal to appear, the mayor said, It was not clearly stated why I had to appear before the Article 100 Committee, so I submitted a written response instead.

I would like the special investigation committee to specify in a bit more detail what exactly they are seeking, he said.

The police have accepted the accusation letter. Regarding Mayor Takubo, during the mayoral election in May this year when he was first elected, a male company executive from Ito City submitted an accusation letter, claiming that there was a possible violation of the Public Offices Election Act because Mayor Takubo publicly provided false information—such as stating Graduated from Toyo University—on the profile sheet distributed to media outlets. It has been revealed that the police accepted the accusation letter by the 28th.

At a press conference on the 28th, Mayor Takubo stated, I do not have any information on this matter, and I would like to consult with my lawyer regarding how to respond.