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Julian Ryall

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.
“I can’t remember how many cases like this I’ve read about in the papers over the years,” said Tadashi Anno, a professor of politics at Tokyo’s Sophia University.
But he believes attitudes are changing.
“Politicians usually justify these sorts of visits as being necessary because they need to learn from the experiences of local governments in other countries, about how they work and how that can be used to benefit Fukuoka in the future,” he said.
“But in recent years, more people have started to look much more closely at what they are doing, who they are meeting and what they are learning. And in a lot of cases, they are now accusing them of not being on ‘research trips’, but being on fun trips.”
In July 2023, 38 members of the LDP’s Women’s Affairs Division flew to Paris for a five-day “study trip” to examine childcare, education policies and efforts by France to boost the birth rate. The visit sparked public anger after some of the women posted “touristy” photos on social media, including shots in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Rui Matsukawa, the head of the delegation, resigned the following month, saying, “I apologise for causing any misunderstanding. I didn’t mean to give the impression that the trip was anything but a serious programme full of content.”
In a more dramatic incident, Hyogo prefectural politician Ryutaro Nonomura broke down in tears and pounded his desk during a bizarre three-hour press conference in 2014, after being accused of misusing about 3 million yen in public funds on 195 trips to hot-spring resorts.
He resigned from the chamber, was found guilty of fraud and was last reported to be working as a political consultant.

“Decades ago, people in Japan were far more lenient about this sort of thing. Maybe they did not fully approve, but accepted that it was one of the benefits of the job. It was tolerated,” Anno said.
“Older generations of politicians probably still feel they are entitled to use at least some public funds for their own private purposes, as long as they are not too ostentatious. And others thought that if everyone else in the chamber was doing it, then they should as well.”
Hiromi Murakami, a professor of political science at Temple University’s Tokyo branch, believes the public is becoming far less tolerant of abuses of the system.
“I think people are frustrated and they are angry because they see this going on at the same time as a lot of them are having trouble getting food because inflation is so high,” she said. “They are asking themselves how their elected representatives could do this to them.”
Fukuoka prefecture said the sky-high costs came to light during an internal inspection, although Murakami suggested a disgruntled employee could have tipped off the officials.
The single most expensive trip was to Paris in November 2025, with 25 people, including the Fukuoka governor, spending 50.3 million yen. Hattori stayed at the 134,000-yen-a-night InterContinental Le Grand, claiming he needed a high-end hotel to greet visiting officials. He held no meetings there during his stay.
The public’s reaction has been swift and angry.
“Were there any results from these inspection visits? Given the numerous trips and the use of taxpayers’ money, have the results of the training been reported to the citizens of the prefecture? And have the results of the training been applied to the prefectural government?” said a poster on a TV Asahi story.
“I am a resident of Fukuoka prefecture, but I have not heard of any such reports. There’s a limit to how much you can make a fool of the citizens.”
Another said, “Why do politicians always have problems with money? What do they think of the taxpayers’ money?” The post urged the politicians who spent the funds to return them.
While it is likely that Hattori and the other LDP members who enjoyed such lavish trips will pay the price come election time, Anno warns this will only lead to new challenges.
“A generational change in politics might lead to different standards being adopted, but when I look at the young politicians who are being elected to local governments, I am not at all optimistic that things will get better,” he said, pointing out that the standards of those elected were “of consistently low quality” because few wanted the job.


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The Fukuoka prefectural government admitted it spent more than US$2 million on the excursions, triggering public anger


The Fukuoka prefectural government admitted it spent more than US$2 million on the excursions, triggering public anger.


Backlash in Japan over Fukuoka officials’ costly overseas ‘research trips’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Fukuoka prefectural government admitted it spent more than US$2 million on the excursions, triggering public anger

The Fukuoka prefectural government admitted it spent more than US$2 million on the excursions, triggering public anger