Tokyo Barrister: Start the law firm bankruptcy

Chapter 622 Hot Potato

The news that the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly decided to form a special investigation team immediately spread throughout the press. Given that this is a sensitive moment before the re-election of legislators next spring, many newspapers have regarded the report as a powder keg of a power struggle. Indeed, as these newspapers said, local councilors from different factions began to compete with each other, striving to unseat their opponents in the re-election next year.

The one most directly affected is, of course, the Shinjuku City Hall.

Due to the formation of the special investigation team, most of Shinjuku City's fiscal expenditure projects have been suspended.

The entire local municipal government has almost fallen into a state of semi-paralysis.

There are also many voices opposing the special investigation team in newspapers and media, believing that this investigation is just a show and filibuster, because the operation of the city hall is paralyzed, and the final cost must be borne by the citizens.

As the initiator of this special investigation team, Congressman Shangdao also bears tremendous pressure. After all, in the end, the facts have to speak for themselves. If the investigation team finds nothing in the end, then Shangdao's career as a parliamentarian may also come to an end. Unknowingly, extremely heavy chips have been placed in the gambling game.

At this time, all parties are paying close attention to the possible progress of the special investigation team. All parties want to know the relevant information discovered by the investigation as soon as possible so that they can maximize their own interests.

All eyes are on the investigation team.

However, all forces failed to notice that a lawyer named Beihara was launching an action. Ever since meeting President Hamanaka that day, Kitahara has been preparing to submit information for administrative ruling to the Tokyo Metropolitan Finance Office. After about three weeks, Kitahara and his team have prepared the materials and are about to start legal proceedings with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Department of Finance.

No one thought that at this important moment when the special investigation team moved in, a lawyer named Kitahara would become a key spoiler. After Kithara and Miyagawa prepared the information, they mailed the application documents for administrative ruling at the post office.

A bright red postmark is stamped on the package——

Legal proceedings will begin that no lawyer has ever attempted...

Three weeks after the end of the parliamentary question——

Morning, 10:32.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Finance Office, Governor's Office.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses and looking quite elegant is working at his desk. The desk lamp next to him illuminated his face, showing a tired look. It was like working for many days in a row without taking a break.

This man is Nakata Yoshitoki, the head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Department of Finance.

Tokyo is the heart of Japan.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the governor in charge of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s finances controls the country’s economic life.

Nakata has been very busy lately. Nakata is a character without much ambition, he is just a technocrat who wants to handle the things and work at hand safely. It is precisely because Nakata occupies a relatively detached and neutral position among various factions. Therefore, he was also pushed into such an extremely important position as a compromise product to balance the various factions.

This position is a problem for Nakata.

There are many things, chaos and miscellaneous things.

However, after taking up his duties for four years, Nakata felt an unexplainable uneasiness.

Nakata couldn't tell where this uneasiness came from. In short, the head of the Finance Department just found it strange. He raised his hand, picked up the coffee next to him, and took a sip.

On the table, detailed expenditure charts of Tokyo's budgets and final accounts over the years are placed. These data silently tell the economic pulse of Tokyo in recent years. GDP data can be faked, per capita income can be faked, and even employment data can be faked. However, it is impossible to fake the tax revenue that pours into the national treasury in real money.

If the economy enters a recession, Tokyo's fiscal revenue will inevitably decrease accordingly.

Nakata looked at the documents, and the uneasiness in his heart became stronger again. In fact, Nakata has discovered the strangeness of Japan in recent times. It is clear that various economic data are showing that Dongyang's industrial activity is moving towards a new level. Investment data in various industries are also constantly breaking new highs.

However, the fiscal surplus of Tokyo Metropolitan Government is getting smaller and smaller every year.

This is strange.

Very strange.

It's like you're talking about a business that's thriving, yet its retained profits are getting smaller.

This is almost a contradictory thing, happening right in front of Tokyo. Nakata has not yet thoroughly studied the cause of this phenomenon, but his intuition tells him that maybe this is something very bad.

However, there are still a lot of annoying things lately.

Nakata is also troubled by the establishment of a special investigation team by the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. The suspension of most fiscal expenditure projects in Shinjuku City will inevitably affect many tasks of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Department of Finance. At the moment, he hasn't thought about how to deal with it.

Suddenly, the sound of "哐, 哐, 哐" came.

There was a knock on the office door.

Faintly visible through the glass wall was the secretary's figure knocking on the door.

Nakata frowned, a little unhappy. Because he had specifically told his secretary not to disturb him.

"Come in." Nakata said impatiently.

The door of the office opened with a click, and a secretary with exquisite makeup was seen holding a thick package with a somewhat panicked look on his face, "Mr. Nakata! Sir Nakata! This morning, we received the package. A document issued by a lawyer."

"What's there to panic about?" Nakata scolded.

Nakata was not surprised when he heard that it was a document sent by a lawyer. After all, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Finance Department also hires lawyers to ensure that the Finance Department’s activities comply with Japan’s fiscal budget management regulations. Sometimes, the Ministry of Finance will also ask law firms to issue legal opinions, so it is not surprising to see documents sent by lawyers.

"It's an administrative ruling! Chief Nakata, a lawyer has submitted an application to us, requesting the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Department of Finance to exercise the administrative ruling function!" the secretary replied.

Administrative ruling? Nakata felt a little unfamiliar with this word. Nakata did encounter some legal controversies during his tenure at the financial institution. But these disputes all went to the tribunal. What does this have to do with our own Finance Department?

However, Nakata quickly remembered that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Department of Finance did have the function of administrative adjudication.

That is, when the financial behavior of the city hall causes disputes between businesses and citizens, these civil groups or individuals can apply to the Tokyo Metropolitan Finance Department for administrative ruling.

However, this program is only on paper.

No one ever uses it.

After all, the law allows you to go directly to the court to sue, so why bother to go to the Department of Finance again.

Suddenly, Nakata shivered. This is a very sensitive moment, especially the formation of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly's investigation team, and people from various factions are undercurrents. The sudden administrative ruling may...maybe not simple!

Nakata stood up immediately and placed the package in the secretary's hand directly on the desk.

All I could see was that the postage note on the package read: An application document for filing an administrative ruling regarding the bidding for the Shinjuku District High-tech Industrial Park project.

The signer is none other than: Lawyer Kitahara Yiichi of Eto Law Firm.

Eto Law Firm? Nakata had never heard of this firm, nor the name of the lawyer named Kitahara Yiichi. However, judging from the application matters, this administrative ruling is about the bidding of the high-tech industrial park. The High-tech Industrial Park is the most popular investment attraction project in Shinjuku City in recent years, and it is also a project led by the Development Committee Ishiwata.

Reminiscent of the fact that Ishiwatari was consulted at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly a few weeks ago, and now we have received an application for administrative ruling on Ishiwatari.

Oh no!

Nakata cursed secretly in his mind, a hot potato was thrown over him! ! !

At this moment, if the Tokyo Metropolitan Finance Department makes an administrative ruling on the dispute involving Ishiwata, then in an instant, the Finance Department where I am located will become the center of the storm.

Who is this lawyer named Kitahara? What he mailed is not so much an application for administrative ruling, but more like a bomb! !

Nakata cursed inwardly again.

Many people outside the office continue to work hard, but they don’t know that at this moment——

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Finance Office received its first-ever administrative ruling application...

(End of this chapter)