"Feasting on a 1.8 Million Won Dinner with Public Funds"... Assembly Members Enjoy Ultra-Luxurious Meal in Paris

Visit for Promotion of Local Products, Trip Cost Reaches 445 Million Won

Stayed in Expensive Hotel Room "to Greet VIPs," But Failed to Receive Them

It has come to light that members of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly of Japan charged the full cost of an ultra-luxurious dinner—costing over one million won per person—to public funds during a business trip to Paris, France, sparking controversy.

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According to Kyodo News on the 15th, five Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly members, including former chairman Isao Kurauchi, spent 200,000 yen (approximately 1,769,200 won) per person—totaling 1,000,000 yen (about 8,879,000 won)—from the public budget for a dinner attended during their trip to Paris last November.

Former Chairman Involved in Past Bribery Allegations Also Joined the Trip

This trip was organized by Fukuoka Prefecture to promote local specialty products, and the dinner in question was held as a side event of an international food exhibition.

A total of 25 people, including Governor Seitaro Hattori and former chairman Kurauchi, participated, and the overall trip expenses reached 50.3 million yen (about 445.3 million won).

Isao Gurauchi speaking before answering reporters' questions in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, on August 25, 2026. Photo by Asahi Shimbun

The controversy grew when it was revealed that even former chairman Kurauchi—who resigned from office due to bribery allegations—was part of the group, raising further questions about the appropriateness of using public funds.

As the issue escalated, some attending assembly members explained to reporters that they "did not know the dinner cost in advance." In contrast, Governor Hattori attended as an invited guest and therefore did not need to use public funds for the meal.

Governor Hattori Also Criticized... Stayed in Expensive Hotel Rooms, Did Not Greet VIPs

Facing mounting criticism, Governor Hattori announced plans to set up a third-party panel to re-examine the legitimacy of these expenses. While the current executive branch has so far maintained that the spending was "appropriate," it also stated that there will be a thorough investigation that includes all overseas inspection trips by the assembly members.

Seitaro Hattori, Governor of Fukuoka Prefecture, announced the first confirmed case of the Omicron variant in Fukuoka Prefecture and the Kyushu region on December 25, 2021. Photo by Asahi Shimbun

However, expenditures related to Governor Hattori’s own overseas trips have also come under scrutiny. According to materials released by Fukuoka Prefecture, since taking office, Governor Hattori has led delegations abroad 23 times over five years, incurring total expenses of 337 million yen (about 2,983,300,000 won).

Among these, there were instances where the governor stayed in high-priced rooms costing over 100,000 yen per night (about 880,000 won), supposedly to receive VIP guests, but in fact did not end up greeting any VIPs.

As the controversy intensified, Governor Hattori held a press conference, stating, "I regret not having reviewed our established practices." Fukuoka Prefecture is currently operating a third-party committee to investigate suspicions of organized purchases of political funding party tickets by executives and expensive overseas business trips; the Paris dinner of the assembly members will also be included in this investigation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.