Isao Kurauchi, the former speaker of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly known as its "don" — the backroom boss who pulls the strings — denied again on Thursday that he took money in connection with the posts of speaker and vice speaker. "As I have said many times, there is no such fact regarding the money transfers that have been pointed out about me," he told a news conference in Fukuoka, his first since resigning his seat.
The conference was organized by Kurauchi's office and held under unusual conditions, with limits on the number of reporters and on broadcasting. It was cut off after about 1 hour and 40 minutes. When a reporter called out that the explanation would not convince residents and asked him to hold another conference, Kurauchi did not respond and left the venue quickly.
He told the room he had never taken cash as an assembly member, and never accepted money under any name — car fare included — that went beyond social courtesy and against political ethics. On golf and meals, he said he had joined many gatherings over the years and could not recall in detail who paid or how much he himself contributed. He said he always took part on the understanding that each person pays their share, settling later if not on the spot, and that when invited he handed over a gift appropriate to social convention.
“I want a third-party committee or similar body to confirm the facts and make them clear.”Isao Kurauchi, former speaker, Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly
A 5 million yen envelope
Asked about testimony from Masahiko Niimura, a former assembly member who served as vice speaker for a Democratic grouping, Kurauchi rejected it outright. Niimura has said that at a dinner in Fukuoka in April 2012, when the two were alone, he handed Kurauchi 5 million yen in a brown envelope. Kurauchi said there had been no money involved in the appointments of speaker and vice speaker.
He suggested the allegation might be connected to a money matter involving Niimura's own party at the time, and said it had nothing to do with the Liberal Democratic Party caucus in the assembly, himself included. "I do not think the testimony is credible," he said, adding that a third-party committee should examine it properly.
Kurauchi said he chose to resign because the assembly had been thrown into confusion and had lost the public's trust, and that he felt that responsibility keenly every day. He said it was more important that he step aside and let the next generation of members build a new assembly.
He also said he has not lied and that, though his honor has been damaged, he is enduring it. The allegations have widened beyond Niimura: a third person has come forward under their own name to say they paid 6 million yen toward Kurauchi's golf and dining bills, according to reports.
Kurauchi's conduct had drawn attention before the money allegations. He was quoted describing himself as "the worst man in Japan" and saying "Nepal is heaven," remarks that caused controversy while he was signaling his intention to resign. The head of the Democratic Party for the People's Fukuoka prefectural federation announced his own resignation after a "Titanic" pose with Kurauchi during an overseas trip became an issue.