YAMAGUCHI--Taxpayers in Yamaguchi Prefecture are riled up by the prefectural government’s recent purchase of a top-of-the line luxury car for use when members of the imperial family come calling.

The gleaming black and heavy-looking Century, the most expensive car manufactured by Toyota Motor Corp., cost 20.9 million yen ($197,500).

Local sensibilities are particularly out of joint as there currently are no plans for any imperial family member to visit.

To keep the vehicle in running order, it is being used to transport the chair of the prefectural assembly.

Prefectural authorities justified the purchase on grounds that the existing vehicle, also a Century, for official use was 18 years old and posed safety concerns.

“We just followed precedent,” said an official. “We thought it is best if (imperial family members) could ride as they are accustomed in a Century, the most expensive vehicle, as it has always been that way.”

The vehicle is a fully redesigned model that Toyota rolled out in June 2018. It runs on 5.0-liter V8 hybrid engine and is equipped with 20 optimally positioned speakers and an 11.6-inch rear seat entertainment and massage function, among other luxurious amenities.

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price was 19.6 million yen, according to the news release of Toyota at the time, or about 7 million yen more than the previous model.

Prefectural government officials began weighing the purchase last year and earmarked 20.9 million yen for it in its initial budget for fiscal 2020. The payment went ahead on July 30 of this year.

IS THE OUTLAY WORTH IT?

Between fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2019, the old Century was used only for 13 days: three days in fiscal 2017, six days in fiscal 2018 and four days in fiscal 2019.

On only two days out of the 13 was the car used for its designated purpose, to transport Prince Fumihito (now crown prince) and his wife Kiko when they attended an urban greenery festival in Yamaguchi in October 2018.

The couple were driven in the car from the airport in Iwakuni in the prefecture to the provincial capital.

Likewise, the new Century is expected to sit in a garage most of the time, as there are no plans for any imperial family member to visit the prefecture anytime soon.

The prefectural government has owned three Century vehicles over the years, including one reserved for the imperial family that was purchased in 2002.

Two others are reserved for the chair and vice chair of the prefectural assembly.

With the latest purchase, the government traded in the one for the imperial family and the one for the vice chair. The trade-in value of the two Century cars came to 307,000 yen.

The chairperson is now using the new Century that is supposedly reserved for imperial family members, while the vice chair is using the one previously reserved for the chair.

The timing for such an expensive purchase could not be worse. Government funds have dramatically decreased because of the novel coronavirus pandemic with the likelihood of a similar drop in tax revenues.

Everything suggests that this is not the best time for “living large.”

Even so, the prefectural government insists the replacement purchase will actually save money.

“By using the car for the imperial family that we rarely use for the prefectural assembly chair, we can reduce the number of official vehicles in our possession,” an official said.

But that explanation did not appear to wash with many residents who contacted the government after the replacement purchase was reported in the media in September.

By Oct. 8, the prefectural government had received 95 calls and emails, of which 92 expressed strong doubts about the government’s decision and justification.

“Why does it have to be a Century?” one person asked.

“You said the car was for the imperial family when you purchased it, but you are using it for the prefectural assembly chair. What is that?” another asked.

“We take the criticism seriously,” a prefectural official responded. Be that as it may, the government has no plan to change its policy.

The Imperial Household Agency does not request a local government to arrange a vehicle when a family member visits a prefecture, according to the agency.

The Asahi Shimbun contacted 15 prefectural governments in the Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu regions, as well as Okinawa Prefecture, but only the Yamaguchi, Kagawa and Nagasaki prefectural governments own a vehicle exclusively reserved for VIPs such as imperial family members.

In Kagawa Prefecture, a previous model Century was used for that purpose. The vehicle had been used by the prefectural assembly chair, but was later designated for VIP use only after the government purchased a minivan for the chair in 2019.

“We expect to continue to use this (Century) from now on,” a Kagawa official said.

The Nagasaki prefectural government reserves a Century for VIP guests that was purchased in 2001.

The vehicle has 139,000 kilometers on the clock. It recently passed a regular safety inspection, officials said.

“We rarely use it, and there is no plan to make a replacement purchase anytime soon. It still has a long life,” a Nagasaki official said.

Officials of other prefectures said they have either used one of their official vehicles, arranged for a limousine to be on hand or used a transportation arranged by the Imperial Household Agency.

An assembly member in Yamaguchi Prefecture sympathized with the public outrage.

“A price tag of 20 million yen is way too much, any way you look at it,” the lawmaker said.

“You can buy land and a house with that kind of money in Yamaguchi Prefecture.”

(This article was written by Koichi Fujimaki and Hiroki Ito.)