A special inquiry panel of the Ito City Council in Shizuoka Prefecture has voted to file a criminal complaint against Mayor Maki Takubo, accusing her of making false statements and violating the Local Autonomy Law in connection with a suspected falsification of her academic record.
Takubo appeared before the panel on Aug. 13, claiming she only learned in June that she had never graduated from Toyo University and had in fact been expelled. But the committee, citing university records and other evidence, concluded that her explanation was “not credible” and that she knowingly gave false testimony.
The panel also dismissed her claim that she briefly showed a graduation certificate to the council chair—an assertion backed only by an audio recording in which she said the document was displayed for “about 19.2 seconds.” The committee determined this too was untrue.
“The claim that she was under a mistaken belief about her graduation is impossible,” said committee chair Kiyoshi Ido, announcing the decision to pursue criminal charges.
by MagazineKey4532