Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly head Kurauchi to resign as assembly member

FUKUOKA – Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly head Isao Kurauchi said in a statement Monday that he will resign as a member of the legislative body.

His announcement came at a time when the prefectural assembly has been rocked by a high-profile money scandal.

Kurauchi, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, Japan’s ruling party, said that he will quit as an assembly member after ending his job as head of the National Association of Chairpersons of Prefectural Assemblies at a meeting of the group to be held in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Former heads and former deputy heads of the Fukuoka assembly have stated that they had paid large sums of cash to senior officials of the LDP group in the assembly before assuming their posts.

Criticism has been growing both in and outside the prefecture, although Kurauchi and others have denied receiving any money.

To investigate the scandal, the prefectural assembly has decided to set up a panel of external experts based on the guidelines of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.

Kurauchi, a heavyweight in the prefectural assembly, had told reporters Wednesday that he would step down as its head “at an appropriate time” to take responsibility for the turmoil while denying he intended to resign as an assembly member as well.

He did not mention in Monday’s statement why he is quitting as an assembly member.

Kurauchi was elected to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly for the first time in 1987 and is now in his 10th term. He has also served as chief of the LDP’s Fukuoka prefectural chapter.

In a rare development, Kurauchi assumed the position of prefectural assembly head for the second time in April 2025.