Overview of the Document
Document title:
Group Calling for the Resignation of Toshio Tsumuraya
Date created:
Unknown
Created by:
Group Calling for the Resignation of Toshio Tsumuraya
Initiating representative:
Tadao Kikuchi
Recipient, distribution destination, and number of copies distributed:
Unknown
Source of acquisition:
Obtained by Toshio Tsumuraya in December 2011
Type of document:
Distributed document concerning a signature campaign or request for support calling for the resignation of a council member
Relevant period:
The date of creation and the date of distribution are unknown.
However, the text states that the Sukagawa City Council had already adopted recommendations for resignation twice, and it also refers to attendance at the December 2011 Regular Meeting.
Therefore, this document is considered to have been created or distributed at least after the course of the December 2011 Regular Meeting had become known.
In addition, the text does not contain any reference to the third recommendation for resignation.
Accordingly, based on the content of the document, it may have been created or distributed during the period after the second recommendation for resignation and before the third recommendation for resignation.
However, because the document itself does not state the date of creation or distribution, the exact date of creation, the date on which distribution began, the number of copies distributed, and the detailed scope of distribution cannot currently be confirmed.
Format published:
Original PDF
Original PDF:
Skip to PDF contentPositioning of This Document
This document is a document calling for the resignation of a council member that was actually distributed in Sukagawa City.
The title of the document is “Group Calling for the Resignation of Toshio Tsumuraya.”
The document states that Toshio Tsumuraya had been arrested and indicted for drunk driving, that he was receiving council member remuneration and a year-end allowance, that he had been absent from council proceedings, that the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted recommendations for his resignation, that he continued to ignore the consensus of the council, that he could not avoid moral responsibility, that his resignation as a council member was being urged, and that agreement with the supporters’ movement was being requested.
The name of Tadao Kikuchi is also stated at the end of the document as the initiating representative.
Taking into account that Tadao Kikuchi was a member of the Sukagawa City Council at the time, this document cannot be understood merely as an expression of opinion by a private individual or a purely private organization.
This document shows that, on the premise of the two recommendations for resignation adopted by the Sukagawa City Council, a city council member acted as the initiating representative, and that a movement or request for support calling for the resignation of a council member was being carried out outside the council.
In this respect, this document is important for examining matters that cannot be captured merely by asking whether the recommendations for resignation had formal legal binding force: the council resolutions, an outside-the-council movement involving a council member, social pressure, effects on honor and social reputation, and pressure on political status.
Facts Confirmed by This Document
This document is titled “Group Calling for the Resignation of Toshio Tsumuraya.”
At the beginning of the text, it states that Toshio Tsumuraya “violated the laws and regulations that form the foundation of social order, committed drunk driving, and has been arrested and indicted.”
This confirms that the document was created after Toshio Tsumuraya had been arrested and indicted.
The document also states that, although Toshio Tsumuraya was a council member entrusted by the citizens, and although he was the person involved in conduct that was most impermissible for such a council member, he was receiving monthly council member remuneration of 423,000 yen and a year-end allowance of 228,420 yen from citizens’ tax money.
The document further states that, although he said he would restore trust through council activities, the conduct occurred during the September council session, and he was absent for three days of the Special Committee on Settlement of Accounts and on the final day.
The document also states that, at the December Regular Meeting, although he attended only the first day, he was absent from all plenary sessions and standing committee meetings from the second day onward for personal reasons.
In addition, the document states that the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted “recommendations for resignation as a council member,” but that Toshio Tsumuraya continued to ignore the consensus of the council.
The document then states, “His offense may be something that can be forgiven if he atones for it. However, precisely because he is in the position of a council member, he cannot avoid ‘moral responsibility.’”
It further states that, based on the above purpose, it urges Toshio Tsumuraya to resign as a council member.
At the end of the document, it requests agreement with the supporters’ movement.
The name of Tadao Kikuchi is stated as the initiating representative.
Taking into account that Tadao Kikuchi was a member of the Sukagawa City Council at the time, this document confirms that, on the premise of the two recommendations for resignation adopted by the Sukagawa City Council, an outside-the-council movement or request for support calling for resignation was carried out with a city council member as the initiating representative.
Accordingly, this document shows that the recommendations for resignation did not remain merely an internal expression of intent within the council, but were connected to an outside-the-council movement involving a city council member.
Important Entries
1. The initiating representative was a city council member at the time
At the end of this document, the name of Tadao Kikuchi is stated as the initiating representative.
Taking into account that Tadao Kikuchi was a member of the Sukagawa City Council at the time, this document cannot be understood merely as a resignation demand document prepared by an ordinary citizen.
This document shows that, on the premise that the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted recommendations for resignation, a movement or request for support calling for Toshio Tsumuraya’s resignation as a council member was being carried out outside the council, with a city council member acting as the initiating representative.
This point is important in examining the possibility that the recommendations for resignation did not remain merely internal expressions of intent within the council, but were connected to an outside-the-council movement involving a council member.
2. The reference to “arrested and indicted”
This document states that Toshio Tsumuraya committed drunk driving and had been arrested and indicted.
This statement shows that the document was created at least after indictment.
In this case, indictment was made on November 9, 2011, and the second recommendation for resignation was adopted on December 1, 2011.
Because this document states that the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted recommendations for resignation as a council member, it is natural to understand that it was created or distributed after the second recommendation for resignation.
However, because the document itself does not state the date of creation, the date of creation and the date of distribution cannot be determined.
3. The reference to “twice” adopting recommendations for resignation
This document states that the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted recommendations for resignation as a council member.
This point is important.
The first recommendation for resignation was adopted on October 26, 2011, before indictment, while Toshio Tsumuraya was in detention and absent from the plenary session.
The second recommendation for resignation was adopted on December 1, 2011, before the first hearing and before judgment.
This document shows that, on the premise of these two recommendations for resignation, a movement calling for resignation was also being carried out outside the council.
Furthermore, taking into account that the initiating representative was a city council member at the time, the connection between the council’s recommendations for resignation and the outside-the-council resignation demand movement should be examined more directly.
4. The reference to “ignoring the consensus of the council”
This document states that, although the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted recommendations for resignation as a council member, Toshio Tsumuraya continued to ignore the consensus of the council.
This statement shows that recommendations for resignation, which had no legal binding force, were being treated as the consensus of the council, and that failure to comply with that consensus itself was being made the subject of criticism.
This point is also connected to the structure of the second recommendation for resignation, in which Toshio Tsumuraya’s position that he would wait for the outcome of the trial was evaluated as disregarding the council’s decision.
Even if a recommendation for resignation has no legal binding force, if it is presented to society as the consensus of the council and failure to follow it becomes the subject of criticism, it can function as pressure on the person’s political status, honor, social reputation, and council activities.
5. The reference to “moral responsibility”
This document states, “His offense may be something that can be forgiven if he atones for it. However, precisely because he is in the position of a council member, he cannot avoid ‘moral responsibility.’”
This statement shows a structure in which resignation was demanded on the basis of moral responsibility as a council member, apart from criminal responsibility.
This structure is similar to the “political and moral responsibility” used in the recommendations for resignation adopted by the Sukagawa City Council.
However, the issue in this case is not the term “moral responsibility” itself.
The issue is how the formation of resignation demands, social criticism, and a signature campaign using the evaluation of moral responsibility, around the time before or after criminal responsibility was determined by the court, affected Toshio Tsumuraya’s honor, personal interests, political status, and council activities.
6. The references to council member remuneration and year-end allowance
This document states that Toshio Tsumuraya was receiving monthly council member remuneration of 423,000 yen and a year-end allowance of 228,420 yen from citizens’ tax money.
This statement shows that, as a reason for demanding resignation, not only the criminal case itself but also the receipt of council member remuneration and the year-end allowance was emphasized.
This indicates that the demand for resignation was structured by linking the criminal case, his status as a council member, receipt of remuneration, and public sentiment.
7. The reference to the supporters’ movement
At the end of this document, there is a request for agreement with the supporters’ movement.
This statement confirms that the document was not merely an expression of opinion, but had the nature of a request for support for a movement or signature campaign aimed at urging Toshio Tsumuraya to resign as a council member.
This point is important in examining how, in this case, the recommendations for resignation were connected to a resignation demand movement outside the council.
Furthermore, taking into account that the initiating representative was a city council member at the time, this document is positioned as a document showing that an outside-the-council resignation demand movement was being carried out with the involvement of a city council member.
Questions Raised by This Document
1. When was this document created or distributed?
This document does not state the date of creation.
However, the text states that Toshio Tsumuraya had been arrested and indicted, that the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted recommendations for resignation as a council member, and that he had been absent from council proceedings during the December Regular Meeting.
Therefore, this document is considered to have been created or distributed at least after the course of the December 2011 Regular Meeting had become known.
The document also states that recommendations for resignation had been adopted twice, and it does not mention the third recommendation for resignation.
Accordingly, based on the content of the document, it may have been created or distributed during the period after the second recommendation for resignation and before the third recommendation for resignation.
However, because the document itself does not contain a date of creation, the exact date of creation, the date on which distribution began, the number of copies distributed, and the detailed scope of distribution cannot currently be confirmed.
2. How should a resignation demand document whose initiating representative was a city council member be evaluated?
At the end of this document, the name of Tadao Kikuchi is stated as the initiating representative.
Taking into account that Tadao Kikuchi was a member of the Sukagawa City Council at the time, this document cannot be understood merely as an expression of opinion by an individual citizen or a purely private organization.
This document was based on the fact that the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted recommendations for resignation, and it urged Toshio Tsumuraya to resign as a council member.
If the initiating representative was a city council member, the connection between the council’s recommendations for resignation and the outside-the-council resignation demand movement becomes more direct.
Even if the recommendations for resignation had no legal binding force, if a city council member acted as the initiating representative, distributed a resignation demand document on the basis of those recommendations, and requested agreement with the supporters’ movement, such conduct could function as substantial pressure on the person’s honor, social reputation, political status, and council activities.
This point is important in examining how the recommendations for resignation adopted by the city council as a public authority, and the outside-the-council resignation demand movement involving a city council member, formed social pressure before judgment or around the time before the judgment became final.
3. Were the recommendations for resignation connected to an outside-the-council resignation demand movement?
This document was based on the fact that the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted recommendations for resignation, and it urged Toshio Tsumuraya to resign as a council member.
At the end of the document, there is also a request for agreement with the supporters’ movement.
This indicates the possibility that the recommendations for resignation did not remain merely an internal expression of intent within the council, but were connected to an outside-the-council resignation demand movement or signature campaign.
Even if recommendations for resignation have no legal binding force, if they are used as the basis for an outside-the-council resignation demand movement, they can function as substantial pressure on the person’s honor, social reputation, political status, and council activities.
This document is important for examining that substantial effect.
4. Was social condemnation formed before judgment or before the judgment became final?
The creation date of this document cannot be determined.
However, based on the content of the document, it may have been created or distributed during the period after the second recommendation for resignation and before the third recommendation for resignation.
If this document was created or distributed before the third recommendation for resignation, then there is a possibility that a resignation demand movement had been formed outside the council before the judgment of January 16, 2012, or at least before that judgment became final.
This point is important in examining whether pre-judgment public assumptions of guilt, media reporting, council resolutions, an outside-the-council movement involving a city council member, a signature campaign, and social pressure interacted with one another.
5. How should the fact that failure to follow the “consensus of the council” was treated as a reason for criticism be evaluated?
This document states that, after two recommendations for resignation, Toshio Tsumuraya continued to ignore the consensus of the council.
However, recommendations for resignation are generally explained as expressions of intent that have no legal binding force.
If so, how can it be explained that failure to comply with recommendations for resignation was treated as ignoring the consensus of the council and used as a reason for criticism and social movement?
This point is important in examining the gap between the formal non-binding nature of the recommendations for resignation and the pressure actually imposed on Toshio Tsumuraya.
6. To what extent is it permissible to demand resignation on the basis of “moral responsibility”?
This document urges resignation as a council member on the ground that Toshio Tsumuraya could not avoid moral responsibility as a council member, separate from criminal responsibility.
The fact that council members are expected to maintain high ethical standards is not denied.
However, before or around the time criminal responsibility was determined, using the evaluation of moral responsibility to form resignation demands, a signature campaign, and social criticism may seriously affect a person’s honor, social reputation, personal interests, political status, and council activities.
It is necessary to examine when, on what grounds, by what actors, and within what scope such resignation demands were made.
7. What effect did the references to remuneration and the year-end allowance have?
This document states that council member remuneration of 423,000 yen and a year-end allowance of 228,420 yen were being paid from citizens’ tax money.
This statement strongly appeals to public sentiment.
By linking the criminal case, absence from council proceedings, council member remuneration, and citizens’ tax money, the document could have had the effect of strengthening social criticism against Toshio Tsumuraya.
This point is important in examining the impact that the resignation demand movement had on his social reputation and political status.
8. How is this document connected to the third and fourth recommendations for resignation?
This document was based on the fact that the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted recommendations for resignation as a council member.
After that, the third recommendation for resignation was adopted on February 9, 2012, and the fourth recommendation for resignation was adopted on March 1, 2012.
In the third recommendation for resignation, a position was expressed to the effect that recommendations for resignation would continue to be issued as many times as necessary, and the text of the proposed resolution stated, “We will continue to appeal as many times as necessary.”
In the fourth recommendation for resignation, even council activities and the notice of a general question were evaluated negatively.
This document indicates the possibility that, during the period after the second recommendation for resignation and before the third and fourth recommendations for resignation, there were also movements outside the council calling for resignation. It is therefore important in examining the accumulation of pressure to resign.
Relevant Laws, Treaties, and International Standards
Domestic Law
Article 13 of the Constitution of Japan:
This provision concerns respect for the individual, honor, social reputation, and personal interests. This document refers to arrest and indictment, council member remuneration, a year-end allowance, absence from council proceedings, the evaluation that Toshio Tsumuraya was ignoring the consensus of the council, and moral responsibility as reasons for urging his resignation as a council member. The issue is how such a document affected his honor, social reputation, personal interests, and political status.
Article 15, paragraph 1 of the Constitution of Japan:
This provision states that the people have the inalienable right to choose their public officials and to dismiss them. The issue is the relationship between the mandate given by residents through election and the political status of an elected council member, where an outside-the-council resignation demand movement was carried out with a city council member at the time acting as initiating representative, on the premise of recommendations for resignation adopted by the council.
Article 21, paragraph 1 of the Constitution of Japan:
This provision concerns freedom of expression. This document itself has the aspect of an expression of opinion and request for support by the initiators. On the other hand, in this case, it is necessary to examine how that expression, linked to recommendations for resignation adopted by the Sukagawa City Council as a public authority, and carried out with a city council member at the time acting as initiating representative, affected Toshio Tsumuraya’s political status, honor, social reputation, and council activities.
Article 31 of the Constitution of Japan:
This provision concerns the guarantee of due process. Even if recommendations for resignation had no legal binding force, if they were connected to an outside-the-council resignation demand movement involving a city council member and imposed substantial disadvantage or pressure on Toshio Tsumuraya, the issue is what procedural safeguards were necessary.
Article 93, paragraph 2 of the Constitution of Japan:
This provision concerns the fact that members of local public entity assemblies are chosen by direct popular vote. The issue is how, in relation to representative democracy in local self-government, a situation should be evaluated where recommendations for resignation adopted by the council and an outside-the-council resignation demand movement with a city council member as initiating representative overlapped against a directly elected council member.
Article 99 of the Constitution of Japan:
This provision concerns the duty of city council members and other public officials to respect and uphold the Constitution. This document is not an official document issued in the name of the Sukagawa City Council or the City of Sukagawa. However, it is based on the two recommendations for resignation adopted by the Sukagawa City Council and names a city council member at the time as the initiating representative. It is therefore necessary to examine the connection between the recommendations for resignation adopted by a public authority and an outside-the-council resignation demand movement involving a city council member.
Article 134 of the Local Autonomy Act:
This provision concerns the power of the assembly of an ordinary local public entity to discipline its members under law and the rules of the assembly. The issue is whether substantial pressure to resign was imposed on Toshio Tsumuraya through recommendations for resignation and the social pressure connected to them, without using statutory disciplinary procedures.
Article 135 of the Local Autonomy Act:
This provision sets out the types of disciplinary measures in an assembly: reprimand in an open session, apology, suspension of attendance for a certain period, and expulsion. The issue is whether the recommendations for resignation and the social pressure connected to them functioned as a substantial sanction separate from the statutory disciplinary procedures.
International Human Rights Treaties: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Article 14, paragraph 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
This provision guarantees that everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. This document itself is not an official document created by the Sukagawa City Council or the City of Sukagawa. However, it was based on the fact that the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted recommendations for resignation, and it urged Toshio Tsumuraya to resign as a council member. In addition, taking into account that Tadao Kikuchi, who is named as the initiating representative, was a member of the Sukagawa City Council at the time, this document is positioned not merely as a document prepared by an ordinary private individual, but as a document showing an outside-the-council resignation demand movement involving a city council member.
In this case, the first recommendation for resignation was adopted before indictment, while Toshio Tsumuraya was in detention and absent from the plenary session. The second recommendation for resignation was also adopted before the first hearing and before judgment.
Therefore, if this document was created or distributed after the second recommendation for resignation and before the third recommendation for resignation, the issue is the possibility that pre-judgment recommendations for resignation by a public authority were connected to an outside-the-council resignation demand movement involving a city council member, social criticism, a signature campaign, and pressure to resign.
The issue here is not the fact that private individuals expressed opinions. The issue is the possibility that a public authority, namely the city council, adopted recommendations for resignation before judgment, and that this public expression of intent formed or amplified social pressure through an outside-the-council movement involving a city council member.
Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
This provision concerns freedom of expression. This document itself has the nature of an expression of opinion and request for support by the initiators. On the other hand, in this case, it is necessary to examine how that expression, linked to recommendations for resignation adopted by the city council as a public authority and carried out with a city council member at the time acting as initiating representative, affected Toshio Tsumuraya’s honor, social reputation, political status, and council activities.
Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
This provision concerns the right of citizens to take part in public affairs, to be elected, and to have access to public service without unreasonable restrictions. The issue is how, in relation to the right of political participation and the status of an elected council member, an outside-the-council resignation demand movement involving a city council member should be evaluated when it was carried out against a person elected as a council member, on the premise of recommendations for resignation adopted by the council.
General Comments
Paragraph 30 of General Comment No. 32:
The Human Rights Committee has stated, with regard to the presumption of innocence, that all public authorities have a duty to refrain from prejudging the outcome of a trial. In this case, the Sukagawa City Council, a public authority, adopted recommendations for resignation before judgment, and those resolutions may have been used as reasons in an outside-the-council resignation demand movement whose initiating representative was a city council member at the time.
This point is important in examining how pre-judgment prejudicial expressions of intent by a public authority affected social reputation, media reporting, a citizens’ movement involving a city council member, a signature campaign, and pressure to resign.
Paragraphs 15 and 16 of General Comment No. 31:
With respect to violations of rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, States parties have an obligation to conduct prompt, thorough, and effective investigations, to bring ongoing violations to an end, and to ensure appropriate remedies. In this case, the issue is whether sufficient investigation and remedy were provided after Toshio Tsumuraya sought examination and correction of the recommendations for resignation and the social pressure connected to them.
Standards Concerning Treaty Performance and Interpretation
Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties:
This provision states that every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith. It is relevant to Japan’s obligation to faithfully implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Japan has ratified.
Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties:
This provision states that a party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty. The issue is whether the relationship with the presumption of innocence, political participation, freedom of expression, and effective remedy under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights can be avoided on the ground that recommendations for resignation are, under domestic law, non-binding expressions of intent, that the matter involved a citizens’ movement outside the council, or that it was an internal matter of a local council.
The detailed interpretation of each provision, its application to this case, and the relationship among these provisions are examined in the page “Legal Arguments and Structure of Unconstitutionality and Illegality.”
Relationship to This Case
This document is a document calling for the resignation of a council member that was actually distributed in Sukagawa City. It is a document for confirming that the recommendations for resignation adopted by the Sukagawa City Council did not remain merely internal expressions of intent within the council, but were connected to an outside-the-council resignation demand movement, a signature campaign, and social pressure.
In this case, the first recommendation for resignation was adopted on October 26, 2011, and the second recommendation for resignation was adopted on December 1, 2011.
This document states that the Sukagawa City Council had twice adopted recommendations for resignation as a council member. It also refers to attendance at the December 2011 Regular Meeting.
Therefore, this document is considered to have been created or distributed at least after the course of the December 2011 Regular Meeting had become known.
The document does not contain any reference to the third recommendation for resignation.
Accordingly, this document may have been created or distributed during the period after the second recommendation for resignation and before the third recommendation for resignation.
However, because the document itself does not state the date of creation or the date of distribution, the exact date of creation, the date on which distribution began, the number of copies distributed, and the detailed scope of distribution cannot currently be confirmed.
What is important in this document is that the recommendations for resignation were used as reasons in an outside-the-council resignation demand movement.
Recommendations for resignation are generally explained as expressions of intent that have no legal binding force.
However, in this document, the two recommendations for resignation are treated as the “consensus of the council,” and failure to comply with that consensus itself is made the subject of criticism.
This shows that, even if recommendations for resignation formally have no legal binding force, they can function as social pressure on the person’s honor, social reputation, political status, and council activities.
What is especially important here is that the name of Tadao Kikuchi is stated in this document as the initiating representative.
Taking into account that Tadao Kikuchi was a member of the Sukagawa City Council at the time, this document cannot be understood merely as a purely private document or as an independent expression of opinion by an ordinary private individual.
This document shows that, on the premise of the two recommendations for resignation adopted by the Sukagawa City Council, a movement or request for support urging resignation as a council member was being carried out outside the council, with a city council member acting as the initiating representative.
Accordingly, this document is positioned as a document for examining how the recommendations for resignation adopted by the Sukagawa City Council, a public authority, were used in an outside-the-council resignation demand movement and functioned as social pressure involving a city council member.
Article 14, paragraph 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees the right of a person charged with a criminal offence to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.
In addition, paragraph 30 of General Comment No. 32 of the Human Rights Committee states that all public authorities have a duty to refrain from prejudging the outcome of a trial.
In this case, the first recommendation for resignation was adopted before indictment, while Toshio Tsumuraya was in detention and absent from the plenary session.
The second recommendation for resignation was also adopted before the first hearing and before judgment.
If this document was created or distributed after the second recommendation for resignation and before the third recommendation for resignation, then during the period before judgment, or at least before the judgment became final, an outside-the-council resignation demand movement involving a city council member was being carried out on the premise of recommendations for resignation adopted by a public authority.
In such a case, the issue is not the expression of opinion by private individuals itself.
The issue is the possibility that a pre-judgment prejudicial expression of intent by a public authority was connected to media reporting, a citizens’ movement, and a signature campaign, and further, through an outside-the-council movement involving a city council member, formed or amplified social condemnation and pressure to resign against Toshio Tsumuraya.
Accordingly, this document is a document for examining, in relation to Article 14, paragraph 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and paragraph 30 of General Comment No. 32, how a pre-judgment prejudicial expression of intent by a public authority affected social pressure outside the council.
The document also links the elements of arrest and indictment, council member remuneration, year-end allowance, absence from council proceedings, the consensus of the council, and moral responsibility as reasons for urging resignation as a council member.
This structure has the nature of appealing to public sentiment and strengthening social criticism against Toshio Tsumuraya by using the criminal case as well as expressions such as council member remuneration and citizens’ tax money.
In particular, if this document was created or distributed before judgment or before the judgment became final, it indicates the possibility that, around the period before or after criminal responsibility was determined, council resolutions, media reporting, a citizens’ movement involving city council members, and a signature campaign interacted with one another and formed social condemnation and pressure to resign against Toshio Tsumuraya.
In addition, on February 23, 2012, the Fukushima Minpo reportedly stated that the “Group Calling for the Resignation of Council Member Tsumuraya” had been established and that twenty-seven city council members, excluding Toshio Tsumuraya, had joined it.
This subsequent fact indicates the possibility that the resignation demand shown in this document did not remain merely an expression of opinion by an individual or a small group of citizens, but developed into an organized resignation demand outside the council and into social pressure involving the participation of a large number of city council members.
Accordingly, this document is an important document for examining the connection between the recommendations for resignation adopted by the Sukagawa City Council and the outside-the-council resignation demand movement involving city council members.
This document must be examined together with the first and second recommendations for resignation, the third and fourth recommendations for resignation, and the later requests for examination and correction of human rights violations.
In this case, it is necessary to examine how official expressions of intent by the council were connected with media reporting and a citizens’ movement involving city council members, and how they functioned as social condemnation, pressure to resign, an impact on honor and personal interests, and pressure on political status.
Related Materials
Related pages
The following core pages are currently available in Japanese only.
Record and Verification of the Case
Record and Verification of the Case, Part 1
Record and Verification of the Case, Part 2
Record and Verification of the Case, Part 3
Record and Verification of the Case, Part 4
Record and Verification of the Case, Part 5
Legal Arguments and Structure of Unconstitutionality and Illegality
Related evidence articles:
Document Distributed in Sukagawa City—Group Calling for the Resignation of Toshio Tsumuraya
Related normative articles:
Related timeline:
October 26, 2011:
First recommendation for resignation
November 9, 2011:
Indictment
November 24, 2011:
All-council-members conference
December 1, 2011:
Second recommendation for resignation
January 16, 2012:
Guilty judgment
January 31, 2012:
Judgment became final and binding
February 9, 2012:
Third recommendation for resignation
March 1, 2012:
Fourth recommendation for resignation