<figure id="attachment_267405" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-267405" style="width: 4032px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="80c183f5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/10/IMG_8645.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-267405" class="wp-caption-text">A &#8220;vote of no confidence in the village mayor&#8221; occurred in the &#8220;smallest village in Japan,&#8221; a 20-minute drive from Toyama City. The reason was not only the power harassment of the town hall that has continued for more than 10 years&#8230;. The incident in this village, where the Showa-era constitution still remains, may not be someone else&#8217;s problem.</figcaption></figure>
 On September 16, the village council unanimously passed a no-confidence motion against the village mayor. In response, the mayor decided to dissolve the village council. What is happening in Funabashi Village, Toyama Prefecture, a small village with a population of 3,000?
 Funabashi Village is said to be a &#8220;miracle village&#8221; that continues to increase its population through local development, but inside it is a &#8220;village of lies and cover-ups. The village mayor, Kunio Furukoshi, is at the top of the list.
 The mayor is Kunio Furukoshi,&#8221; an official at the Funabashi Village Office said in a serious tone of voice.
 The village has been in turmoil for several years. At the village office, which has a staff of about 30, a number of employees resigned due to power harassment that had been going on for more than 10 years. The perpetrator, an employee, was punished. There was also an arrest of a village employee for bid-rigging. In the background, there is a special &#8220;development&#8221; in this village.
 In 1990 Around 1990, the population was around 1,400 Funabashi Village had a population of about 1,400 around 1990, but many new residents came to the village as a bedroom community, which is a 20-minute drive from the center of Toyama City. Currently, the population is 3,000 people. The population is now 3,000. In other words, more than half of the village is &#8216;new residents. &#8230; There is a gap between the new residents and the original residents.
 The population growth rate in 2015 was the second highest in Japan, and the village is making efforts to raise children. However, the village office, which is the driving force behind the village, is a &#8220;muddled mess,&#8221; he said.
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<h2> Of the 30 employees in the village hall, 10 are victims of power harassment.</h2>
 A report by a third-party committee on &#8220;power harassment at the village hall,&#8221; which has become an issue, has been released. According to the report, 10 out of 30 employees were victims of power harassment and sexual harassment.
 The perpetrators mentioned in the report and in the media are &#8220; 40 However, there are several other employees who habitually engage in power harassment and sexual harassment. The staff member, whose relative is a member of the village council, uses this as a cajole to do whatever he wants. The alleged perpetrator in this case is a &#8220;40s staff member. 40s&#8221; who is the alleged perpetrator of this incident. The alleged perpetrator, an employee in his 40s, was originally a victim of power harassment. It&#8217;s a mess. There have been several incidents of violence in the workplace.
 Why has the town hall become such a &#8220;mess&#8221;? We tried to talk to several retired employees, but they said, &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to talk about it because I am afraid of retaliation.
 Former town hall employees told us, &#8220;Shouting and snide remarks at work are commonplace, and some employees do whatever they want, such as spreading untrue rumors, distributing slanderous flyers to the local press, and giving false testimony to the police.
 I understand that people in the town hall don&#8217;t want to make waves when terrible things happen, and I can understand why retirees don&#8217;t want to get involved. I understand that retirees don&#8217;t want to get involved. Morality doesn&#8217;t apply. You never know what they will do to you.
 It is hard to believe that &#8220;you don&#8217;t know what they will do to you,&#8221; but there is a reason why this kind of situation prevails. The perpetrators of power harassment target &#8220;non-village&#8221; employees.
 They give priority to employees from the village and treat those from outside the village and residents with disregard. The opinions of those from the village are given unconditional priority, regardless of whether they are right or wrong. The three managers who are harassing the employees are all from the village. All four employees who resigned between last March and this May are from outside the village&#8221; (former town hall employee).
 The villagers are uniformly aware of the &#8220;reality&#8221; of the situation.
 The time has stopped since the Showa period. I heard that the bid-rigging that was uncovered last year has been going on for a long time, so it is possible that Mayor Furukoshi knew what was going on.&#8221;
<h2> The village mayor responded with a beaming smile, saying, &#8220;I was surprised.</h2>
 We interviewed Mayor Furukoshi.
 He said, &#8220;This is just a very small part of the village making a fuss for the fun of it.
 He said in a calm tone of voice. What about the council&#8217;s vote of no confidence in the mayor?
 I was surprised by the suddenness of it. I don&#8217;t really know why. I was thinking, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to work very hard to fix the power harassment problem in the town hall, and I want to rebuild this village with my own hands. I want to rebuild this village with my own hands. It was like a surprise.&#8221;
 Funabashi Village has six village council members. Among them are relatives of the alleged harasser.
 There were many stories about power harassment and many resignations,&#8221; he said. But the staff 30 people. But we are a homey workplace with a staff of about 30 people. I think the power harassment was also due to a lack of communication among the staff.
 However, he says that he is now working on reforms in response to the findings of the third-party committee.
 I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s my idea to take leadership and unite the staff,&#8221; he says. To prevent a recurrence, we will, overall, set up a consultation service and hold hearings, or something like that, and the entire town hall will be working on that as well.&#8221;
 Takayuki Takeshima, one of the council members who submitted the no-confidence motion, sent a long letter &#8220;To the residents of the village&#8221; to all concerned after the vote. According to it.
 &#8220; The issue of power harassment, which the village mayor has neglected for more than 10 years since his time as deputy mayor, has betrayed the trust and broken the hearts of many employees. I think it is clear from the power harassment investigation report. But unfortunately, he is not aware of it.&#8221;
 Is the village disturbance really just &#8220;a riot for the amusement of a few people,&#8221; as the village head says? The statement submitted to the media by the volunteer residents strongly demands that the perpetrators of the power harassment be held accountable and punished.
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 The smallest village in Japan has been divided into two large parts, and the residents are fearful of what might be said or done to them.
 In the old days, there was power harassment,&#8221; he said. What we call power harassment now. When I think about it now&#8230;&#8221;
 The mayor looks back on the &#8220;Showa period&#8221; of 40 years ago, when he was a new employee, and says, &#8220;I think about it now. Problems like those in Funabashi Village may still be occurring here and there in Japan.
<figure id="attachment_267406" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-267406" style="width: 4032px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f819c75d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/10/IMG_8641.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-267406" class="wp-caption-text"> The village sign posted in front of the station. The peaceful atmosphere is sad.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_267400" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-267400" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2a7b0abd"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/10/a0b82bcc0d104c103cb3d98ec794df55.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-267400" class="wp-caption-text"> The village mayor promotes the charm of the village by &#8220;Cheering Squad Costume Play,&#8221; but&#8230;</figcaption></figure>

 On September 16, the village council unanimously passed a no-confidence motion against the village mayor. In response, the mayor decided to dissolve the village council. What is going on in the small village of Funabashi, Toyama Prefecture, with a population of 3,000? Funabashi

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