# 石田英司「福岡県と県議会が第三者委を設置」「教員の在学中の奨学金、返還免除を検討」「犬猫の保護依頼が増加、その背景は？」9月23日

- Show: 上泉雄一のええなぁ！
- Published: 2026-09-22
- Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/1588682529_dd07469fbf4d.html
- Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/MBSINC3732970978.mp3
- Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary.

Fukuoka Prefecture and its prefectural assembly have set up three third-party committees, at a combined cost of 220 million yen, to investigate allegations involving expensive overseas inspection trips and purchases of political fundraising party tickets. Separately, Japan's education ministry (MEXT) is considering reviving a scholarship-repayment exemption program for teachers for the first time in roughly 30 years, and a rise in requests to rescue dogs and cats is being linked to the aging of pet owners.

## What this episode answers

### Why did Fukuoka Prefecture and its prefectural assembly set up three separate third-party committees, and how much is the investigation costing?

They were set up to investigate allegations of expensive overseas inspection trips and purchases of political fundraising party tickets; the combined investigation cost across the three committees is 220 million yen.

### What are the two third-party committees set up by the prefecture, and the one set up by the assembly, each investigating?

The prefecture's first committee is examining whether a social club for prefectural government executives covertly paid for political fundraising party tickets on behalf of the assembly speaker and deputy speaker; its second committee is reviewing the necessity of overseas inspection trips conducted between 2021 and 2026; the assembly's committee is investigating suspicions that money changed hands over the speaker post.

### How did Japan's third-party committee system originate, and what structural problems does it have?

It originated with the 1997 collapse of Yamaichi Securities, when off-the-books debt came to light and a third-party committee (not yet institutionalized) was formed to investigate. Its core structural problem is that the organization under investigation itself pays the investigation costs and effectively decides who sits on the committee and what the inquiry covers.

### What is the teacher scholarship-repayment exemption program that MEXT is considering, and why was it abolished in 1998?

It is a program begun in 1953 that forgave teachers' university scholarship debt in full after 15+ years of service (partial forgiveness for 5 to under 15 years) to secure enough graduates willing to become teachers when enrollment rates were low. It was abolished for students entering university in April 1998 amid criticism that it was unfair for teachers alone to receive such benefits and concern that, as enrollment rose, limited scholarship funds should go to students who needed them most.

### What is behind the rise in requests to rescue dogs and cats?

The top reason is owners becoming unable to keep their pets due to hospitalization or death linked to aging, followed by "multi-pet hoarding collapse," where uncontrolled breeding leads to an unmanageable number of animals.

## Article

## Fukuoka sets up three third-party committees to get to the bottom of the allegations — cost: 220 million yen
On September 17, the Fukuoka Prefectural Government announced on its official X account that Fukuoka Prefecture and its prefectural assembly, both embroiled in controversy over expensive overseas inspection trips and purchases of political fundraising party tickets, have set up third-party committees to investigate. There are three in total — two established by the prefecture and one by the assembly — with combined investigation costs of 220 million yen. The committees comprise 23 lawyers, which works out to roughly 10 million yen per lawyer on a simple calculation. The first committee set up by the prefecture is examining whether a social club for prefectural government executives covertly paid for political fundraising party tickets on behalf of the assembly speaker and deputy speaker. The second is reviewing the necessity of overseas inspection trips conducted between 2021 and 2026 — trips that became a talking point after an assembly member said at a press conference, "We're not going to stop overseas travel." The third committee, set up by the assembly, is investigating suspicions that money changed hands over the speaker post; the program also touched on exchanges involving a voice recorder connected to that matter.

## The weakness of the third-party committee system
Ishida explained that third-party committees are not a system imported from countries like the United States but are actually unique to Japan. Overseas, investigations are led mainly by outside directors or audit committees, with lawyers playing only a supporting role. In Japan, by contrast, company insiders are excluded and committees are formed entirely of outside lawyers, who compile detailed reports. The practice is said to have begun with the 1997 collapse of Yamaichi Securities, when off-the-books debt — liabilities not recorded on the books — came to light and led to the firm's failure; a third-party committee, not yet institutionalized at the time, was formed to investigate. Since then the number of such committees has surged, with several hundred set up in a single recent year, and the Fuji Television case was cited as a familiar recent example. Ishida pointed out that the biggest problem lies in the structure itself: the organization under investigation pays the investigation costs itself, and effectively decides both who sits on the committee and the scope of the inquiry.

## Ishida Eiji: "What should really be set up here is a Local Government Act Article 100 committee"
Bar associations have drawn up guidelines for third-party committees, but with the number of lawyers surging and competition for work intensifying, Ishida said the work generated by third-party committees amounts to a "bubble" for lawyers. On that basis, he argued that for the current Fukuoka allegations — especially the suspected money changing hands over the speaker post — what should have been set up was not a third-party committee but an Article 100 committee of the assembly. Third-party committees have no enforcement power and impose no penalty for false testimony, whereas Article 100 committees do carry penalties for false statements, which is why opposition parties are also calling for one to be established. With next year's unified local elections approaching, Ishida said it looks like not just the Fukuoka prefectural assembly but local governments across the country will be watched for how they respond.

## MEXT considers reviving teacher scholarship-repayment exemption after nearly 30 years
Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has begun considering exempting teachers working at public elementary, junior high, and high schools from repaying scholarships they borrowed while at university. If realized, it would mark a revival after roughly 30 years. The program began in 1953, initially covering only elementary and junior high school teachers, before being extended in 1965 to high school and kindergarten teachers as well. Under the scheme, teachers with 15 or more years of service had their full scholarship debt forgiven, while those with 5 to under 15 years received partial forgiveness scaled to their years of service. At a time when university enrollment rates were low, the aim was to secure enough university graduates willing to become teachers. The program was abolished for students entering university in April 1998 — a period that coincided with junior high school teacher hiring competition ratios peaking at around 18-to-1, prompting criticism that it was "unfair for teachers alone" to receive such benefits, alongside concerns that, as enrollment rates rose, limited scholarship funds should go to students who needed them most. Even after abolition, the number of applicants did not decline. Today, the hiring competition ratio for junior high school teachers has fallen to around 3.6-to-1, driven by a wave of hiring to replace mass retirements from the baby-boomer generation, along with growth in special-needs classes and wider uptake of maternity and childcare leave. The program also noted that 1 in 48 junior high school teachers takes a medical leave of one year or longer, with the majority of those cases attributed to mental illness.

## Rise in requests to rescue dogs and cats linked to aging pet owners
To coincide with Animal Welfare Week, running from September 20 to 26, pet-care company Inuneko Seikatsu released survey results on requests to rescue abandoned or stray animals. Among 120 private organizations that rescue and rehome dogs and cats, half reported an increase in rescue requests over the past year, with 8,718 dogs and cats requested for rescue over that period. The top reason cited for the increase was owners becoming unable to keep their pets due to hospitalization or death linked to aging; the second most common reason was "multi-pet hoarding collapse," where uncontrolled breeding leads to an unmanageable number of animals. The report also noted that local governments took in a combined 39,409 dogs and cats in fiscal 2024.

## Takeaways

- Fukuoka Prefecture and its prefectural assembly have set up three third-party committees to investigate the allegations, at a combined cost of 220 million yen, prompting questions about how public money is being spent.
- Japan's third-party committee system has a structural weakness in that the organization under investigation effectively pays the costs and controls both committee selection and investigation scope, leading Ishida to call for an Article 100 committee instead.
- MEXT is considering reviving the teacher scholarship-repayment exemption program for the first time in about 30 years, while a rise in dog and cat rescue requests is being linked to the aging of pet owners.