Overview
- Officers executed a home search on February 14 at the residence of Maki Takubo, the former mayor of Ito, as part of a criminal investigation into allegedly false academic credentials and election law violations.
- Takubo was voluntarily questioned by police on January 29 and she denied all four allegations reported in the criminal complaints.
- She submitted a February 12 letter declining to provide the document described as a graduation certificate, citing a legal right to refuse seizure.
- Police seized some materials during the search, but the alleged diploma was not found at the home and was not taken; her lawyer says the document is held at a Tokyo law office and will not be produced.
- Takubo listed Toyo University as her final academic credential during her May 2025 mayoral campaign despite later disclosures that she had been removed from the university, a controversy that led to council investigations, two no-confidence votes, her removal from office, and an election loss in December.