Tokushima, Nov. 10 (Jiji Press)--The mayor of Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, and two others were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining 3.5 million yen by inflating the cost of construction works ordered by the western Japan city.

The Tokushima prefectural police caught Mayor Hisato Machida, 69, Awa official Kenichi Matsuda, 42, and company employee Minoru Dohi, 53, alleging that they conspired in May 2024 to defraud the city in connection with a cable network project involving a private company.

With the company, the city signed a contract on the works to replace related equipment, which included 3.5 million yen in repair costs for a traffic accident caused by Machida. The trio is suspected of fraudulently obtaining the 3.5 million yen in April 2025, which was part of the total cost of 74.25 million yen for the works

Machida joined the former Awa town government in 1976 before the town merged with other municipalities to form the current city of Awa. He later served as finance division chief and deputy mayor before being elected mayor for the first time in 2023.

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Hisato Machida, mayor of the city of Awa, Tokushima Prefecture (from the city's website)

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