Wearing a white “victory suit” and saying, “I will fight for everything! … “200 Million Yen Fraud Court”, the true identity of the beautiful city councilor of Neyagawa, Tanimachi.

Judge : “Do you understand what kind of prosecution is going on?”

Defendant : “Yes, I understand.

Presiding Judge : “Please state your opinion.

Defendant “I dispute all the facts of the indictment!　I am not attempting to commit fraud!”

The first trial was held at Fukuoka District Court on December 20, 2010. Mika Yoshiba, 42, a Neyagawa City Council member in Osaka Prefecture, who is accused of fraud, denied the facts of the indictment and strongly insisted on her innocence. Perhaps to prove her innocence, Yoshiba appeared in court dressed in a white suit with a white top and bottom. When asked by Atsushi Tomita, the presiding judge, what his occupation was, he answered in a loud voice, “I am a city council member! in a loud voice.

The defendant Yoshiba and five others are alleged to have taken advantage of a public loan program to support medical facilities whose performance had deteriorated due to the new coronavirus, and obtained a large amount of cash by giving false explanations. The victim was Company A, a welfare facility located in Sakai City, Osaka. Between July and December 2008, the group allegedly defrauded Company A of half of the loan amount it had received from the government under the guise of a “commission fee. The amount is more than 200 million yen,” said a reporter from the social media department of a national newspaper.

I was cheated.

In court, Yoshiba also claimed that he had conspired with Watabe.

I never conspired with Watabe. I was deceived by him. It is truly regrettable and unfortunate that I have been misunderstood as having been used by and complicit with the con man Watanabe.

Watanabe” refers to Hidenori Watanabe, 48, who was arrested and charged as an accomplice in the fraud case. Watanabe has admitted to everything in the indictment, including conspiring with Yoshiba.

Immediately after her first election in 2007, she released a photo book titled “Mika Yoshiba” under the guise of raising political funds. The 500 copies of the book, priced at 1,000 yen each, quickly sold out and were reprinted.

She ran an event management company in Tokyo and must have been quite prosperous. He often drove a flashy yellow Mercedes Benz to the office. Perhaps he was particular about his badge, but he wore it not on his chest but on a flashily decorated cell phone strap.

Yoshiba was often seen in Tokyo and Osaka attending glamorous events for people in the entertainment and music industries (see related image). She seems to have had a tanimachi.

She was loved by the president of a food company, who has since passed away. The president took her to various parties and events. It seems that she also interacted with the head of the entertainment agency. At a birthday party for one of the top executives, he took the microphone and congratulated him.

In court, Yoshiba was ready to fight the case all the way. The prosecution plans to present a number of evidences to support the indictment at the next and subsequent trials.