Former Fukuoka Assembly Speaker Resigns, Declines to Hold Press Conference
Listen to the story
Kurauchi Isao, the former speaker of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly, has resigned from his position as an assembly member.
After his resignation, people called for him to hold a press conference to explain the situation. However, Kurauchi refused, sending a written document instead, in which he said a press conference "should be avoided."
At the time of his resignation, he had said he would give a full report later in Fukuoka, saying he would "report slowly" after some time had passed.
The situation involves a scandal over money that Kurauchi allegedly received. He reportedly said he was "prepared for a high hurdle" regarding the issue, suggesting he expected it to be difficult.
The scandal is connected to an overseas trip taken by assembly members, during which a dinner was held in Paris. The dinner reportedly cost around 1 million yen.
A third-party committee — an independent group not part of the assembly — is investigating the money issue and held its own press conference about the case.
Fukuoka Governor Hattori also commented on the trip, defending it as "a necessary effort," though details of his full explanation were not given.
The case has raised questions about how public money was used during the overseas visit and whether officials should be held accountable.
Vocabulary11 words
- speaker
- the top leader of a group of politicians
- resigned
- officially left a job on purpose
- press conference
- a public meeting where someone answers reporters' questions
- document
- an official piece of writing
- scandal
- a situation that causes public anger because something bad happened
- third-party committee
- a group with no connection to the problem, brought in to check facts fairly
- investigating
- carefully checking facts to find out the truth
- allegedly
- said to be true, but not yet proven
- overseas
- in or to another country
- governor
- the top official leading a prefecture in Japan
- accountable
- responsible for explaining one's actions
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Quiz
Answer key
1. He said it should be avoided, in a written document 2. Investigating the money scandal 3. True
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Kurauchi Isao, the former _____ of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly, has _____ from his position as an assembly member.
After his resignation, people called for him to hold a _____ to explain the situation. However, Kurauchi refused, sending a written _____ instead.
At the time of his resignation, he said he would give a full report later, saying he would "report _____" after some time had passed.
The situation involves a _____ over money that Kurauchi allegedly received.
The scandal is connected to an _____ trip taken by assembly members, during which a dinner was held in Paris, reportedly costing around 1 million yen.
A _____ — an independent group not part of the assembly — is _____ the money issue.
Fukuoka Governor Hattori also commented on the trip, defending it as "a necessary effort."
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