Inside City Politics: Ex-Mayor Comments on Itō’s Education Controversy and Shohei Ohtani Encounter

“I think Mayor Itō lacks prudence. If he had apologized at the early stage, this wouldn’t have escalated into such a major problem.”

So says Seiji Shimizu (64), former mayor of Kamagaya City, Chiba Prefecture. The issue that Shimizu is criticizing concerns Maki Takubo (55), mayor of Itō City in Shizuoka Prefecture, who is embroiled in a controversy over whether her claim of graduating from Tōyō University is false. Shimizu continues:

“By refusing to submit her diploma and retracting her announced resignation, her hardline stance has only made the problem bigger. Citizens’ impressions of her keep worsening. As the head of the city, if she was at fault, she should have acknowledged it immediately and apologized.”

Shimizu, who says this, served five terms over 19 years as mayor of Kamagaya until June 2021. His tenure had its ups and downs. In his book published this July, Mayor Flustered Diary (Sangokan Shinsha), he vividly recounts the inner realities of city administration. Below, Shimizu reflects on the harsh realities he himself experienced as mayor.

“I too was once pursued over allegations of résumé falsification. It was right after I was first elected in July 2002, during my very first council session. Before becoming mayor, I had worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was stationed at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi, India’s capital, as First Secretary. But this title of ‘First Secretary’ was complicated. At the Foreign Ministry, there’s a rule called the local rank system—for those serving in overseas diplomatic missions, with the Minister’s approval, they may use a title one rank higher if needed for diplomatic dealings with the host country.

My actual rank was Second Secretary, but under this rule, my business card read ‘First Secretary.’ Someone tipped off opposition council members about this discrepancy in titles, and they attacked me in the council, saying, ‘Isn’t this résumé falsification?’ For a moment I was flustered, but since I had been informed of the question in advance, I had prepared my diplomatic passport, which listed my post as ‘First Secretary’ under the local rank rule, as evidence. I showed the passport and explained the Ministry’s rule. I barely managed to avoid trouble, but just in case, I removed ‘First Secretary’ from my career history thereafter.”

〈Rummaging through a female staff member’s locker〉

During his second term, there was even an incident where defamatory anonymous letters were spread. One day, a city councilor from neighboring Kashiwa called him and said:

“Mr. Shimizu, a strange letter about you arrived here.”

When he asked to have the strange letter mailed to him, it reportedly contained accusations of the following misconduct by Mayor Shimizu:

〈This is to expose the problems of Mayor Kiyoshi Shimizu, who is a harmful presence to the citizens of Kamagaya. ▼The mayor deliberately comes to work on holidays, peeks into the women’s changing room at city hall, and rummages through their lockers. ▼There are people who have seen him going in and out of a woman’s apartment in a condominium in Kashiwa City〉

The anonymous letter stretched to three A4 pages.

“It had a peculiar sense of realism to it, and it was shocking. It was true that I often went to work on holidays, but I never rummaged through female staff members’ lockers. Nor did I have any close female acquaintances in Kashiwa. It was almost entirely fabricated, but the letter seems to have reached more eyes than I expected.

One night, my wife confronted me, asking, ‘Who’s this woman in Kashiwa? You take the official car and go out at night—were you going to Kashiwa?’ She accepted my explanation for the time being, but I’m sure there were people who believed the story of the ‘Kashiwa woman.’ Fortunately, there was almost no political impact, and I safely won my third mayoral election with the highest number of votes in the city’s history.”

Officially, a Fighters fan

Mr. Shimizu hails from Mihara City in Hiroshima Prefecture and became mayor of Kamagaya as what is commonly called a parachute candidate. A lifelong baseball fan, he was a devoted supporter of the Hiroshima Carp. At the same time, Kamagaya is home to the Nippon-Ham Fighters’ farm team facilities. During his first term as mayor, on a Sunday, a youth baseball event was held at the Fighters’ Kamagaya Stadium, with former Hiroshima manager Takeshi Koba scheduled to attend.

“Koba-san, who led the Carp to their very first league championship in 1975, is someone I greatly admired. Nervously, I approached him, and he responded with a gentle smile. Overcome with excitement, I then gave the following speech as the city’s representative: ‘I have been a Carp fan since childhood. It was a great honor for me to be able to speak with today’s guest, Manager Koba. I sincerely hope that under his guidance, the children of Kamagaya will further develop their baseball skills.’

However, after the event, my greeting became the target of criticism in the city council. They said: ‘Even though this event was held at the Fighters’ stadium, the mayor openly declared in front of Fighters personnel and citizens that he is a Hiroshima fan. This was an inappropriate remark.’ The criticism was unexpected, but I could understand that in Kamagaya, where the Fighters’ farm team is based, some citizens might not have appreciated it. I realized I lacked sensitivity, and from that point on, I became—at least officially—a Fighters fan.”

Since rookie players for the Fighters move into Yūshō Dormitory within the farm facilities, they transfer their resident registration to Kamagaya. As a result, Shimizu had the chance to meet many famous players in their younger days—Yu Darvish, Sho Nakata, Yuki Saitō… Among them, a two-shot photo taken with Shohei Ohtani at Yūshō Dormitory, who would go on to become a global superstar, is a priceless treasure that Shimizu could never part with.

Though he faced adversities such as accusations of academic fraud and smear letters, he also enjoyed the unique privileges of a municipal leader, such as interactions with star athletes. Shimizu’s accounts offer a glimpse into the personal side of being a mayor—something you wouldn’t find in the official minutes of the council.

【Next installment: Mixing Up the Order of Greetings and Forcing His Wife to Apologize on Her Knees】
In it, more details are shared about the misfortunes his wife and daughter endured, as well as the secret tricks he used to avoid dozing off during council sessions—revealing both the hardships of being mayor and the hidden side of city hall.

Former Kamagaya Mayor—From parachute candidate to 19 years across five terms.
Seiji Shimizu’s latest bestseller in the series, Mayor Flustered Diary, is now on sale!