「弱みにつけこむカツアゲ」議長就任めぐり約2000万円、福岡県議会の元議長が告発 背景に“不透明”な金銭疑惑【Nスタ解説】｜TBS NEWS DIG

A former speaker of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly recently held a press conference to make accusations. The former speaker stated that he had previously received approximately 20 million yen, describing it as "like being extorted." What exactly is going on? ■ 10 million yen for becoming speaker? Discrepancies in both sides' claims Junna Yamagata, newscaster: Former Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly Speaker, Gen'ichi Yoshimatsu, testified that in October 2019, before assuming the position of speaker, he paid 10 million yen to Masayuki Nakao, then secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party's prefectural assembly group, and other executives of the same group. Yoshimatsu served as speaker for one year, from June 2020 to June 2021, and stated that he perceived it as "an extortionist, protection money-like demand that took advantage of people's weaknesses." In fact, it seems the amount paid was not just 10 million yen. December 2018: Social golf outing, 5.5 million yen January 2020: New Year's party at a long-established restaurant, approximately 900,000 yen April 2020: Dinner and travel expenses with executives, approximately 1.75 million yen June 2020: Accommodation and golf expenses, 2 million yen, etc. It is said that a total of over 20 million yen was given. According to Representative Yoshimatsu, he was told that "(the expenses) would be reimbursed at the celebration party." ■ What's the problem with expenses being reimbursed from party profits? Representative Yoshimatsu reportedly borrowed 10 million yen from acquaintances to raise the total amount of over 20 million yen. On the other hand, he says that the celebration party for his inauguration as Speaker (a political fundraising party) generated 20 to 30 million yen in profits, and the expenses were actually reimbursed. TBS Special Commentator, Hiroshi Hoshi: There are two problems. First, the "spread of funds." Who was forced to pay how much, and who received the money? Secondly, it's said that the expenses were covered by political fundraising parties. Basically, companies buy the party tickets. In other words, it's a corporate expense. Moreover, it's tax-free. Corporate profits should be taxed, but they're tax-free because of the party tickets. The fact that money that should have been collected through tax revenue flowed to the golf expenses of prefectural assembly members suggests that this is more than just a simple exchange of money among friends. Takahiro Inoue (Anchor): In the case of parties, there's an obligation to record it in income and expenditure reports. It's not a matter of whether or not there was an accusation; it's about the fact that the checking function wasn't working at all, even during normal times. Hiroshi Hoshi (TBS Special Commentator): They're probably just manipulating the numbers to make them look good. ■Prefectural Assembly Group Leaders Deny Allegations; Conflicting Claims Yamagata (Anchor): According to Assembly Member Yoshimatsu, "This incident isn't limited to me." So why did the exchange of money occur? Assemblyman Yoshimatsu stated, "I heard rumors that in the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly, 10 million yen was paid to executives of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) prefectural assembly group for the appointment of Speaker, and 5 million yen for the appointment of Deputy Speaker." On the other hand, the LDP prefectural assembly group executives who allegedly received the money deny it, and the two sides' claims contradict each other. However, Assemblyman Hideyuki Eto, who served as Deputy Speaker in the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly, also testified that he paid 5 million yen. ■ What lies behind the "strange rule" of Speaker selection? Why were such large sums of money paid to executives of the LDP prefectural assembly group? It seems there is an overwhelming power dynamic surrounding the Speaker position. The Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly has 87 members, and the LDP prefectural assembly group is the largest faction, with 41 members. The election of the prefectural assembly's speaker is supposed to be decided by a vote of the assembly members, but according to TBS special commentator Hiroshi Hoshi, "In reality, it seems that the leaders of the largest faction have already decided on the candidate beforehand." In fact, since 2001, the speakers of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly have all been Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members. In 2020, Mr. Yoshimatsu served as speaker. Furthermore, since around 2009, the speaker has been changing every year. Is this unique to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly? TBS Special Commentator Hiroshi Hoshi: "As is the case in the National Diet, there is basically a rule that the speaker is chosen from the largest faction, and the deputy speaker from the second largest. Otherwise, there would be a lot of maneuvering to secure the majority for the speaker election, and it would become uncontrollable. "By choosing the speaker from the largest faction, th...