Officials in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Fukuoka are facing growing scrutiny over a series of overseas “research trips” that included stays in Paris and London and millions of yen in hotel upgrades, as public frustration builds over political spending during a period of rising household costs.
The controversies have put pressure on Governor Seitaro Hattori and the local chapter of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Fukuoka, one of Japan’s most important regional governments and the economic centre of the country’s southwest.
Hattori expressed “regret” at a press conference on Tuesday, saying that “established practice” had not been followed in the planning of 23 overseas trips since 2021.
The prefectural government, which confirmed it had spent 337 million yen (US$2.08 million) on the excursions, including hotel upgrades, has promised to “review long-standing customs”.
The local government is dominated by elected LDP representatives, which is still trying to recover from a slush-fund scandal that gripped the party at the national level in 2023.
Analysts say countless incidents of politicians taking pricey overseas trips at taxpayers’ expense have occurred in recent decades, but argue that the Fukuoka case may be landing harder because many people across Japan are struggling with higher prices for food and other essentials while wages have largely remained static.