福岡県議会を巡る金銭授受疑惑。その渦中にある蔵内勇夫議長が県議を辞職しました。
After coming under heavy fire amid a money scandal, Fukuoka prefectural assembly Speaker Isao Kurauchi resigned his assembly seat on Aug. 25. His announcement came at a time when the prefectural assembly has been rocked by a high-profile money scandal.
※come under fire 批判／非難を浴びる
※high-profile 注目を集める、目立った
10回当選を重ね、福岡県議会のドンと呼ばれていた蔵内氏。
Isao Kurauchi was first elected to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly in 1987 and went on to serve 10 terms. He was dubbed the “don” of the assembly.
※dub あだ名をつける
※don ラテン語でmaster ➾有力者 ➾boss/heavyweight/kingmaker等
県議の吉松源昭氏が、議長就任時に、自民会派幹部から金銭を要求されたと証言したことでスキャンダルが明るみに出ました。
The controversy erupted in July after prefectural assembly member Motoaki Yoshimatsu alleged that senior members of the LDP caucus demanded about 20 million yen from him before he took office as speaker in June 2020.
※caucus 〈米〉党員集会、政党の幹部会 ➾party faction/party group/party bloc等
吉松氏は「逆らえない人の弱みにつけこんだ『カツアゲ』的な要求だ」と訴え、他の県議も金銭要求があったと証言しました。
Yoshimatsu was shaken down for 20 million yen. “I believe it was a blackmail-like request, taking advantage of not being able to go against the bloc,” Yoshimatsu said.
※shake someone down for + 金額 人に金を強要する／人から金を脅し取る
※blackmail 恐喝、ゆすり 動詞もあり
A “pay-to-play” scandal has deepened, with five former speakers and vice speakers admitting to paying large sums or covering lavish expenses for party leaders to secure those powerful posts.
※pay-to-play 金銭と引き換えに便宜を図る
※lavish気前のいい、贅沢な
他の会派と食事やゴルフでゴマをするために金を出す＝『汗をかく』という隠語があるようですが、議長らは否定しています。
According to LDP insiders, an unwritten rule dictates that the assembly speaker must be a “fourth-termer” (a member in their fourth term), with the post rotating annually. This setup has created a high-stakes “race” among a small pool of andidates. Success in the race for the post requires one to “ase o kaku” (break a sweat)—a slang term for shouldering social expenses like dinners and golf to curry favor. Party executives implicated in the scandal have flatly denied the allegations.
※curry favor 機嫌を取る、ゴマをする
そんな疑惑の中、臨時議会で、蔵内氏の辞職を求める決議案に対して、蔵内氏の元秘書議員が決議案の採決中止を求める緊急動議を提出。動議は賛成多数で可決され、決議案の採決は中止となるという出来レースがありました。
On August 17, 2026, assemblyman Gensho Yoshimatsu submitted a resolution calling for the resignation of Assembly Speaker Isao Kurauchi. Immediately after the resignation resolution was introduced, Taisuke Hayashi, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) faction and a former secretary to Kurauchi, introduced an emergency motion to halt the vote. Supported by a majority vote from the LDP and Democratic assembly groups, the emergency motion passed, effectively canceling the vote on Kurauchi's resignation recommendation.
公金で、異常に高額な海外視察旅行に何度も行っていることにも批判が集まっています。
Highly expensive overseas fact-finding trips by assembly members have been widely criticized as taxpayer-funded "junkets."
※fact-finding事実調査の 視察inspection
※junket 〔官費による物見遊山の〕視察旅行
獣医師＝veterinarian でもある蔵内勇夫議長は、人や動物の健康を一体的に守る『ワンヘルス』という方針を推し進めようとしており、視察の目的はワンヘルス関連であったとされます。
Kurauchi had been promoting “One Health” initiatives, which take a unified approach to human and animal health and environmental conservation, but the appropriateness of the budget for these initiatives is also being questioned.
金権体質や利益誘導を一掃し、今の時代に見合う県議会に生まれ変わる必要があると言えます。
Fukuoka is the area that represents Kyushu, and it attracts many international tourists. It is essential to eradicate the culture of money politics and pork-barreling, and to transform the prefectural assembly into one befitting the modern era.
※ pork-barreling バラマキ政治、特定の議員、選挙区にだけ利益をもたらす助成金
