<figure id="attachment_465439" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-465439" style="width: 2138px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="af3cf6fd"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/937b11852a428dc1531d2ed2d6373ffd.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-465439" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Takubo is an avid gardener. As mayor, he emphasized environmental preservation and opposed the construction of a mega solar power plant in Izu Kogen</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Leaving him confused.</h2>
<p> An elegant house sits on a small hill in Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The property, with its sprawling garden, stands out even in an area known as a high-end vacation home resort.</p>
<p> One weekday afternoon in April, a woman wearing a gray sweatshirt, black pants, and blue rubber gloves on her hands emerged from the house shortly after 3:00 pm. For about an hour, she spent her time digging up soil in the garden with a shovel and planting seedlings, which she professed to be her hobby.</p>
<p> She looked graceful as she leisurely tinkled in the soil during the daytime on a weekday, when citizens are busy working with anxiety over the ever-declining yen, soaring prices, and the situation in Iran. The man is Maki Takubo, 56, the former mayor of Ito City, who has been causing a stir since last year for allegedly falsifying his academic credentials.</p>
<p> On March 30, Takubo was indicted at home. The charges were for forgery and use of a private sealed document and violation of the Local Autonomy Law.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> According to the indictment, Mr. Takubo committed two crimes. According to the indictment, Mr. Takubo committed two crimes: forging a diploma from Toyo University between May and June of last year and presenting it to the city council chairman and others on June 4, and giving false testimony about when he learned of his expulsion from the university at a special committee meeting of the city council held on August 13. Mr. Takubo seems to deny both charges, saying that no crime has been committed.</span></p>
<p> While he confidently denied the allegations, such as dismissing the document accusing him of academic fraud as a &#8220;dubious document,&#8221; the indictment alleges that he had a contractor produce seals for the president of Toyo University and others, which leaves one speechless.</p>
<p> The victims are probably the citizens. The city government has been stymied by daily reports of allegations of academic fraud by top officials. The election of a new mayor following the loss of Mr. Takubo&#8217;s post cost the city 37 million yen in blood money, during which time all budget deliberations and policy decisions were suspended. As far as FRIDAY can tell, there are no circumstances, such as illness, that she cannot tell us about.</p>
<p> A current Ito City Council member laments, &#8220;The Ito City Council has been in the middle of a series of problems.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The Ito city government has been greatly disrupted by the series of problems,&#8221; laments a current Ito city council member. Since Mr. Takubo&#8217;s resignation, citizens who felt a sense of crisis have become more interested in the city government, which is a relief, at least. Now the new mayor is taking the lead in rebuilding the city government. &#8230;&#8230;&#8221;</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The judiciary&#39;s handling of the situation is."></div>
<h2>No intention of remorse!</h2>
<p> As for Mr. Takubo&#8217;s future, former Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office prosecutor and lawyer Masaru Wakasa noted.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The act of an incumbent mayor forging a diploma from Toyo University is malicious, and prosecution is justified. However, Mr. Takubo&#8217;s side has claimed the right to refuse seizure and has not submitted the allegedly forged documents to the investigators. The key is whether or not it is possible to prove forgery without the documents in question.</span></p>
<p> By consistently denying the charges, &#8220;Mr. Takubo will be at a disadvantage,&#8221; Wakasa said.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Either he knows he is guilty and is acting tough, or he really believes he is not guilty. In any case, if he continues to deny everything and refuses to submit forged documents as evidence, it would not be surprising if he is sentenced to prison for having no intention of showing remorse.</span></p>
<p> As he prepares for his first trial, what does Mr. Takubo think of his responsibility as the former mayor for causing chaos in the city government?</p>
<p> When we visited Mr. Takubo at his home, where he was engaged in gardening, we saw a figure in the room, but there was no answer when we pressed the intercom.</p>
<p> The &#8220;Takubo Theater&#8221; continued for about a year. The second chapter of the &#8220;Takubo Theater,&#8221; which has been going on for about a year, is about to begin.</p>
<figure id="attachment_465438" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-465438" style="width: 2022px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="41badd77"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/1b374d4f0d4d568eaa211019e6e4410b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-465438" class="wp-caption-text"> A man and a woman visited his house and had a chat in the garden. Mr. Takubo did not go out on the town during the day.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_465441" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-465441" style="width: 2327px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f106c014"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/73c4f3fa3d50f1158fea006f6355a68d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-465441" class="wp-caption-text"> Maki Takubo, former mayor of Ito City, is indicted at home, but still enjoys a &#8220;leisurely gardening&#8221; lifestyle.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_465442" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-465442" style="width: 1729px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="49a237cf"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/e5f9ef25d0ac296564bb4d6840f515f6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-465442" class="wp-caption-text"> Unpublished photos of Maki Takubo, former mayor of Ito City, who was indicted at home, and her &#8220;leisurely gardening&#8221; lifestyle.</figcaption></figure>
<p> From the May 1-8, 2026 issue of FRIDAY</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>


 Ichiro Takatsuka

 Maki Takubo, former mayor of Ito City, enjoyed gardening in the vast garden of her mansion.... Even now, he remains unaccountable for the public outcry. As he prepares for his first trial, which could result in jail time, we wonder what he thinks about his responsibility for the chaos he has caused in the city government.

My pace as usual… Maki Takubo, former mayor of Ito City, “leisurely gardening life” photo even though he is indicted at home

Access Ranking