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

Abiko Mayor and Deputy Mayor are often absent.

On February 19, it was announced that Nobuyuki Hanawa, 46, of the comic duo “Knights,” who is known for his “Yaho de Chosashita” (“I looked it up on Yahoo!”), was terminated as the hometown ambassador of Abiko City, Chiba Prefecture, in a video broadcast.

The reason was not due to Hanawa’s facial injury as reported, but because of Abiko City’s tight financial situation and the lack of growth in the number of views, which led to a cut of 1.84 million yen in production costs.

Immediately after the news of the termination, Hanawa said on Nippon Broadcasting System’s “Knights the Radio Show”: “For a while, the number of views was down by a hundred.

[Joon] had, at one point, a hundred or so views. There are about 200 Abiko City employees. Why is it less than that?　First of all, let’s all watch it!

Abiko City stunned the popular comic actor, but Abiko City Council member Mayo Shibata is dismayed, saying, “I have been stunned many times by the city government.

Last March, the mayor and deputy mayor went to Koshien together to watch a high school baseball game. When we requested information, we found that last year alone, the mayor went to Koshien on April 12, May 3-6, June 2, 15, and 29. We did not know whether the mayor and the deputy mayor were working together or not. We did not know whether they were working together or not, but the city’s top and number two officials were absent together too often. What if some natural catastrophe or other event were to occur?”

When we checked the schedules of Mayor Junichiro Hoshino (67) and former Deputy Mayor Akira Aoki (72, at the time) on March 20 and 30, we found the following information.

[Cheering for Chuo Gakuin High School at the 96th Spring High School Baseball Tournament at Koshien Stadium].

In the national government, either the prime minister or the chief cabinet secretary, the number two official in the administration, must be in Tokyo. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the capital of Japan, has four deputy governors to prepare for crisis management. Article 167 of the Local Autonomy Law states

Vice-governors shall assist the head of an ordinary local public entity, take charge of policy and planning under the order of the head of an ordinary local public entity, supervise the affairs of the officials who are its subsidiary organs, and represent the head of an ordinary local public entity in the performance of his/her duties as separately provided for in the law.

The same can be said of the deputy mayor. The deputy mayor is the first temporary deputy who takes over for the mayor when the mayor becomes ill or otherwise unable to perform his or her duties.

However, in Abiko, the top mayor and the number two mayor were both away from the city 550 kilometers away in Koshien, Japan. Moreover, their absence was not limited to Koshien.

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.

Public Expenditures for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to Watch Koshien

How does Abiko City think about crisis management? When we inquired at Abiko City Hall, we received a response in the name of the secretary section chief, who was pointed out in a suspicious document as having “accompanied the mayor to Ten-ei Village.

The department in charge of disaster prevention closely shares information with the mayor and deputy mayor and discusses how to respond, such as whether to respond to each department or set up a disaster headquarters, when damage is anticipated in advance, such as when a typhoon is approaching.

In addition, comprehensive disaster drills are conducted, and information is shared with related organizations at the Civic Crisis Management Council. In addition, we currently have various means of communication, including cell phones and e-mail, and are able to keep in constant contact with each other, so we believe that we can respond even in the absence of the mayor and deputy mayor.

Regarding the trip to Ten-ei Village in Fukushima Prefecture, the mayor and deputy mayors are in special positions and, unlike regular city employees, have no concept of working hours or overtime work, and theyhaveofficial duties regardless of weekdays or holidays. He responded, “I have set aside a day for you to take a rest.

As for whether or not the mayor and vice mayor traveled to Ten-ei Village, he responded, “I will refrain from answering the destination of the trip, etc., since it is not official business but the personal affairs of the mayor and vice mayor, but there is no evidence that the mayor was playing golf, etc., or that the vice mayor joined them on the 29th, and no public funds were involved in the trip . He replied.

He also admitted that the mayor and deputy mayor were away from the city hall to support the Koshien team, saying , “We went there as an official duty and supported the team with the whole city. The travel expenses of the two attendants on March 20 and one attendant on March 30 totaled a total of 211,900 yen at public expense to support the mayor and vice mayor.

One of the questions is the trip to Ten-ei Village, which the mayor and deputy mayor did not respond to, claiming that it was a “personal matter of the mayor and deputy mayor. The city explained that the trip was for the mayor and deputy mayor, who hold special positions, to “take a rest,” but does this mean that the secretary-general and his staff accompanied them on their “rest” trip? Is that part of the city hall’s job?

When we further questioned the secretary section chief, who was pointed out in the suspicious document as having “accompanied the staff to Ten-ei Village,” we received a response, this time in the name of the director of the Planning and General Affairs Department. The following is the gist of the reply.

The staff members are extremely frightened and under psychological strain because of the questions that could be construed as threats and that could embarrass the Abiko City Council, even though there is no problem in terms of vacation procedures or legality and no public funds are involved, and even though the questions are completely private. As always, we ask that you stop asking questions and prying questions that seem to be based on malicious and monstrous documents so that we can continue to work in a positive manner.”

It is not “procedural or legal issues” that Friday Digital is asking. What Friday Digital is asking is not “procedural or legal issues,” but whether it is right or wrong that “the mayor and deputy mayor are frequently absent. If there is a claim that public money is being spent and city hall employees are involved, it is only natural that they would do their utmost to cover the situation. What do they think about the existence of citizens like Mr. Shibata, who are questioning the city’s attitude toward crisis management?

The officials of the Abiko City Council are appalled.

Although the deputy mayor was not with us, we have confirmation from several people, including the participants, that the mayor, the secretary-general, LDP vice-chairman Takagi, independent city councilor Toshima, and council office staff went to Ten-ei-mura. “ In a local government with a system of dual representation, it is impossible for the head of the city council and the council to be so close that they travel together,” said the city council.

Hearing Abiko’s response, Shibata sighed and continued.

I thought that Koshien was a self-financed event,” Shibata said. I didn’t realize that they would spend over 210,000 yen of public funds just for two days of cheering. Hanawa-san of the Knights’ publicity video was discontinued because he spared 1.84 million yen in annual production costs. ……”

The absence of a mayor and deputy mayor has continued since the deputy mayor was replaced by Kensei Watanabe, 64, on April 1. The second son of Ryoko Tani, 49, a five-time Olympic medalist, will enroll this spring at Chuo Gakuin High School, which was a top-four finalist in last spring’s Senbatsu tournament. If the school is selected to participate in the Koshien tournament, will the top and number two officials of Abiko City once again travel together to Koshien at public expense?