Photo/Illutration The Ichikawa city government in Chiba Prefecture in 2019 was forced to cancel a pricey lease contract for this Tesla electric vehicle that Mayor Hirotami Murakoshi had intended to use as his official car. (Mamoru Nagaya)

ICHIKAWA, Chiba Prefecture--Incumbent Mayor Hirotami Murakoshi, who suffered criticism for installing a shower in his office and leasing a luxurious Tesla electric vehicle, lost his re-election bid on March 27 here.

Murakoshi, 48, was defeated by Ko Tanaka, 65, a former member of the Lower House who ran as an independent, and finished third in the six-candidate Ichikawa mayoral race. 

The spotlight throughout the campaign was on Murakoshi’s first and only term in office, which was plagued by scandals. Following his defeat, he continued to defend his record.

“I have never done anything to serve my own interests,” Murakoshi said on March 27. “I thought I had explained (my actions), but I have to accept that the way I did so was not good enough.”

In February last year, a meeting of the Ichikawa city assembly heard that a shower room had been installed in the mayor’s office at city hall, costing the public around 3.6 million yen ($29,000).

In responding to the public backlash, Murakoshi said the shower room could not only be used by him, but also by female city officials in the event of a natural disaster, when the mayor’s office can be used as a rest space for them.

But the shower room was ultimately moved to another city facility in September.

Prior to that, Murakoshi had faced criticism from the public and media in 2019 for leasing a Tesla electric vehicle, which he intended to use as his official car.

The city government was forced to cancel the expensive lease contract.

These scandals, along with Murakoshi’s administration of the city, became top issues at the ballot box.

Tanaka said Murakoshi owes his defeat to his treatment of the city’s residents.

“I believe that the Ichikawa residents couldn’t tolerate how (Murakoshi) spent tax revenues, nor his comments and behavior in the past four years,” he said.

Tanaka added that he is determined to make them not feel as they did under his predecessor’s rein and ensure his administration listens to the people of Ichikawa.

This is Tanaka’s first time winning the post, and he did so by a wide margin.

Tanaka secured 65,567 votes, followed by Takako Moriya, 54, a former member of the Chiba prefectural assembly, with 46,253 votes. Murakoshi finished third, with 15,159 votes.

Voter turnout was 38.75 percent.

Related News