By NATSUNO OTAHARA/ Staff Writer
November 2, 2022 at 18:27 JST
The Yamaguchi prefectural government bought this Toyota Century for visits by imperial family members and ambassadors, but it was usually used by the prefectural assembly chairman. (Koichi Fujimaki)
YAMAGUCHI—A court here on Nov. 2 ordered Yamaguchi Governor Tsugumasa Muraoka to pay 20.9 million yen ($141,752) in damages for his government’s “illegal” purchase of a luxury vehicle using taxpayers’ money.
Presiding Judge Noriyuki Yamaguchi of the Yamaguchi District Court said the prefectural government’s purchase of the Century, a first-class car manufactured by Toyota Motor Corp., was “an illegal act in financial accounting.”
He said the governor was responsible for coming up with the full amount in damages and paying the money to the prefecture’s coffers as demanded in a lawsuit filed by a resident.
The prefectural government in April 2020 bought the vehicle for 20.9 million yen to be used by members of the imperial family and foreign ambassadors.
According to the division that manages prefectural properties, the Century was used for VIPs on only six days, including two days for imperial family members.
The prefectural government said the vehicle has mainly been used by the chairman and vice chairman of the prefectural assembly.
A former prefectural employee, 75, filed the lawsuit in February 2021.
“It was an illegal expenditure of public funds and damaged prefectural finances,” the plaintiff said.
He noted that the car was extremely expensive but its use was limited, and the prefectural government could have simply rented a car instead.
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