Mayor Fumiko Hayashi explained at a press conference this week that the city of Yokohama not keeping minutes of meetings related to Yokohama’s IR bid and casino project was “according to the rules of normal practice.”
Hayashi expressed her belief that there was no problem, adding that in future she would ensure there were proper meeting minutes when necessary.
The issue was discovered last month after the Mainichi Shimbun submitted an information request. Minutes for a meeting relating to the IR project attended by Mayor Hayashi and top officials had not been created. City officials had explained in an interview that this was due to information being shared verbally.
Hayashi said at this week’s press conference, “If the current rules and regulations are insufficient, we need to make a decision, but at the moment we are not thinking about that,” indicating her opinion that revision of rules relating to document management was not currently necessary.
Hayashi also added that if there was any information not properly relayed to residents, she would like to remove any concerns going forward.
“I want to take many opportunities to convey these things based on my reflections,” she said.