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ICHIKAWA, Chiba -- A lavish office desk and chair set used by a former mayor of this eastern Japan city will be sold via an internet auction, the municipal government announced on May 26.

The set was purchased for 1,982,200 yen (about $15,600), including tax, when the new Ichikawa Municipal Government building partially opened in August 2020. The huge cost sparked criticism from the city assembly.

The 145-square-meter mayor's office itself is set to be converted into a secretarial division on the grounds that is "too spacious." The office previously housed a glass-walled shower unit, which was removed after similarly coming under fire.

Construction work, including the installation of partitions, is slated to start in June, and the renovation cost is expected to reach some 2 million yen (roughly $15,700).

The desk and chair were purchased when former mayor Hirotami Murakoshi was in office. The huge price tag came to light after assembly members obtained the information under an official document disclosure request. They asked whether the city government could obtain understanding from residents over this, in an assembly meeting in June 2021. An official at the government responded, "We can get understanding from citizens because we procured domestically manufactured products."

However, the current mayor, Ko Tanaka, who defeated Murakoshi in the mayoral election in March this year, told a news conference on his first day in office in April, "Residents know that he (Murakoshi) bought the lavish, expensive desk to suit his personal taste using tax money." Tanaka said he intended to sell it because "I want (the expense) to be returned to city tax coffers." He is currently using an office desk used by successive mayors at the former city hall.

(Japanese original by Yuri Sanada, Chiba Bureau)

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