A scandal that the Fukuoka branch of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party
pressured members into making sizable payments is intensifying. Japanese media
reported on the 30th that after the Fukuoka prefectural assembly speaker
resigned, another implicated official — Matsumoto, head of the LDP Fukuoka
federation — is considering resignation. In July a former Fukuoka assembly
speaker, Yoshimatsu, alleged the LDP Fukuoka assembly group demanded money
before he took office in June 2020, citing charges for party social golf
outings, lodging, transport and high-end dining that together totaled about
JPY20mln (roughly 850k yuan). Several former speakers and vice speakers have
said they, too, paid several million yen prior to assuming office.
