Police in Toyama are stepping up an investigation into the city's inflation of its census population by more than 2,000 people, more than a month after the case was referred to prosecutors. A man in his 70s who worked as a census surveyor for the city last year said he feels strong anger toward city hall.
The man showed a pencil the city gave him for the census. Asked whether the city told him to write in pencil, he said: "That's right. From the start they told us not to use ballpoint pens." He said he suspects city employees deliberately altered documents written with that pencil.
“It's not a correct judgment. There are far too many people.”the man said, census surveyor
How the case surfaced
An anonymous letter accusing the city of inflating its census population reached news organizations including BBT in September. The city later admitted it had reported a larger population than actually lived there.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications referred a city employee to prefectural police on suspicion of violating the Statistics Act, without naming the person. Police searched city hall last month and seized census-related documents.
The ministry put Toyama's population at 402,133 in a preliminary figure released in May. The confirmed figure released in September was 399,197, about 3,000 lower.
Mayor Hirohisa Fujii apologized, saying: "This is truly regrettable and a matter of the deepest regret. I am very sorry and offer my heartfelt apology." On why the numbers were inflated, he said: "I simply do not understand. It could invite suspicion that the organization was instructed to carry out improper paperwork."
Erased double lines and 'vacant' notes
According to the ministry, some census forms recorded people as living at addresses where they did not. In household lists compiled by surveyors, there were traces of double lines drawn to mark "no actual residence" being deliberately rubbed out with an eraser and the entries restored.
Notes written in the remarks column such as "vacant house" and "no resident" had also been erased in many places. City employees are suspected of removing the marks on purpose to make it appear people lived there.