180 complaints filed against Toyama City over suspicion of population inflated population due to comprehensive inspection of operations
Quick Look
- Mayor Hirohisa Fujii announced at a regular press conference on the 16th that he had received approximately 180 complaints and opinions from citizens regarding the suspicion that Toyama City had inflated the population by more than 2,000 people in the 2025 census.
- The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications charged the city employees involved in the fraud with violating the Statistics Act, and prefectural police raided city hall.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The preliminary figures for Toyama City's 2025 census were 402,133 people, but the final count is 399,197 people, 2,936 fewer. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications discovered a flaw in the questionnaire and is investigating the matter as suspected fraud.
Mayor Hirohisa Fujii announced at a regular press conference on the 16th that Toyama City had received approximately 180 complaints and opinions from citizens regarding suspicions that the city had inflated the city's population by more than 2,000 people in the 2025 census.
Some had harsh opinions about the mayor, with comments such as ``It's very disappointing'' and ``What the hell are you doing?''
At the press conference, Mayor Fujii explained, ``We are treating this as an issue for City Hall as a whole, not as an issue for any particular department.'' He said that he issued a notice in the mayor's name, ``Regarding ensuring fair execution of duties,'' instructing him to ensure thorough compliance with laws and regulations and conduct a comprehensive inspection of operations.
The city also announced its intention to investigate this incident after the investigative agency concludes its investigation.
The city's population was 402,133 in the preliminary census released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in May, but the final figure announced on September 29 was 399,197, 2,936 fewer.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications filed a complaint with the Toyama Prefectural Police on suspicion of violating the Statistics Act, without naming the city employee involved in the fraud. Prefectural police raided Toyama City Hall on October 3. After the search, Mayor Fujii released a statement in writing, but did not give an explanation in public.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, in Toyama City, city officials appear to have intentionally erased the double line drawn on the list of households to indicate ``no actual residence'' and reinstated the households. They also created a survey form for each household to record the number of people, their names, and the year and month of birth, and they were able to keep track of their accounts.
Survey forms with names blank...
The population of Toyama City has decreased by 2,936 people from the preliminary figure in the final figures released in September.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, a ``survey form'' will be checked when giving final values. This is a response sheet for each household, and includes information such as the number of people in the household, their names, gender, and marital status.
By checking the questionnaire, it will detect cases where children are working even though they are infants, or cases where their birth year is ``Showa 2015.''
In Toyama City, a number of cases with blank names were found. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications believes that such questionnaires may have been forged.
The survey form is called the survey household list...
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
As the investigation by Toyama Prefectural Police progresses, some employees may be charged with violating the Statistics Act.
Possible · Within months
Toyama City may conduct its own investigation and move forward in uncovering the full extent of the fraud.
Possible · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Who falsified the questionnaire?
- What was the motive for the falsification?
- When will the city's internal investigation into this incident begin?
- How many employees will be targeted for violating the Statistics Act?
