The mayor of Fukuoka’s neighbor, Kasuya Town, is in a pickle over homemade pickles! The mayor, 67-year-old Kiyonori In, allegedly took some homemade pickles to the home of a town assemblyman, when he went there to ask said assemblyman to back a public works bill. To investigate the incident, the City Assembly has set up a so-called Article 100 Committee, a powerful body stipulated in the Local Government Act for investigating possible acts of malfeasance by elected officials. The question at stake is whether or not the mayor’s actions constitute interfering with the assemblyman’s voting rights. Meanwhile, some locals feel the assembly should focus its efforts elsewhere, while one local farmer quipped, “There are a lot of farmers in Kasuya and a lot of people who make pickles. Maybe the mayor was just tickled with himself for making a good batch.” For the record, the assemblyman in question was quoted as telling the pickle-toting mayor to “take a hike!” Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 7/8
