No Mayor or Deputy Mayor”… “Surprising Crisis Management” in Abiko City, Chiba, the topic of discussion after the distribution of “Nights” was terminated.

Crisis management “can be handled” by education chief, waterworks bureau chief

An Abiko City Hall official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “On Thursday the 28th and Friday the 29th of November last year, the mayor of Abiko City was elected.

On Thursday the 28th and Friday the 29th of last November, the mayor and deputy mayor were both away. It was rumored by some that they were on a trip to Ten-ei Village in Fukushima Prefecture, where they had established a relationship through reconstruction activities, and a suspicious letter was circulated immediately afterwards.

This magazine obtained the “suspicious document” mentioned by the city hall official. The document, titled “Abiko City and the Abiko City Council are in terminal condition,” states, “Mayor Junichiro Hoshino, the city council, the mayor Junichiro Hoshino, the city councilors, and the city council members are all in the same state of confusion.

The staff and city council members have confirmed that Mayor Junichiro Hoshino, Deputy Mayor Kensei Watanabe, City Council Vice Chair Hiroki Takagi (LDP), City Council Member Yoichi Toyoshima, a female secretary section chief, female staff members, and other former managers went on a trip from November 28 (Thursday) to 29 (Friday), 2024.

It is absolutely unacceptable that politicians and their favorite staff members took vacation time to go out with men and women while the staff worked from morning to night every day. Furthermore, it is extraordinary that the mayor and deputy mayor of Abiko City are both going out of the prefecture at the same time without even the minimum sense of crisis.

In Abiko City, when something happens to the mayor, the deputy mayors are assigned in the following order: 1, deputy mayor; 2, superintendent of education; 3, director of the waterworks bureau; and 4, director in charge of disaster management. If an act of God occurs during the absence of the top two officials, the superintendent of education will take the lead, and if the superintendent of education is also absent, the director of the waterworks bureau will take the lead.

The superintendent of education and the director of the waterworks bureau are usually located in Tennodai, another government building about five minutes by car from the city hall. What would happen if the two top officials were both absent and the road to City Hall was cut off? The Director of Education is a former school principal and the Director of the Waterworks Bureau is a city employee. Will they be able to take on the heavy responsibility of providing leadership in an emergency situation? Can they handle the heavy responsibility of exercising leadership in an emergency situation?

Mayor Hoshino is currently in his fifth term, and was elected unopposed in the most recent election due to the lack of an opposition candidate. The deputy mayor is also a professional from the city hall, and the tendency is to “give first priority to supporting the mayor,” according to the mayor. Needless to cite the Noto earthquake last New Year’s, one never knows when a natural catastrophe will occur.