The town assembly of Hachirogata (a small farming and fishing community of around 5,000 people in Akita Prefecture, north-east Japan) has unanimously passed a no-confidence motion against its mayor, Kikuo Hatakeyama, 72, who has been unconscious since suffering a brain haemorrhage in February. Under local law, a mayor wishing to resign must personally notify the assembly chair, meaning a resignation submitted by family members would be legally invalid, leaving a no-confidence vote as the only viable path to removing him from office. Hatakeyama, who has served as mayor since 2008, will formally lose his position on 19 May, with an election to choose his successor expected within 50 days.