THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
January 31, 2025 at 17:19 JST
OSAKA—An external review released by the city government here on Jan. 30 found that improved negotiations could have slashed the 80 million yen ($517,000) cost of burying a deceased stranded whale by up to 14 million yen.
The final cost ended up being more than twice the city’s initial estimate.
While the external audit committee found no evidence that city officials deliberately inflated expenses, it noted that inadequate negotiations led to excessive spending.
The contractor initially proposed a bill of 86.25 million yen to bury the whale that died in Osaka Bay in January 2023 near the mouth of the Yodogawa river. The city’s estimate was 37.74 million yen, less than half that amount.
Despite the large gap, negotiations led to a final contract of 80.19 million yen being signed in late March, just before the fiscal year ended.
The whale, nicknamed Yodo-chan after the river, was buried at sea in the Kii Channel six days after being confirmed dead.
The head of the management reform division at the time, who was not in a position to engage in direct negotiations, pressured the section chief in charge of the contract to increase the amount in line with the contractor’s wishes.
In the report and during the Jan. 30 news conference, the audit committee said that it could not definitively conclude that there was intentional bias in the city’s contractor selection, as there were only a limited number of contractors available for the job.
“Because of the project’s unique nature, it was difficult to determine what an appropriate contract amount should have been,” said lawyer Yasuo Yamagata.
Therefore, there was no basis to conclude that the city suffered a financial loss from the contract, the committee said.
It added that the actions of the former head of the management reform division were based on the idea that the contract needed to be finalized and the work completed, rather than an intent to raise the price at the contractor’s request.
However, the committee pointed out that the rush to finalize the contract before the end of the fiscal year may have led to inadequate negotiations with the contractor.
It said that better negotiations with the contractor, particularly over the cost of cleaning the ship used to transport the whale, could have reduced expenses by up to 14.04 million yen.
The committee criticized a business meal between the former head of the management reform division and the contractor during negotiations as inappropriate.
It also criticized another division head for delivering sake to a contractor’s representative.
The committee noted that the ongoing residents’ lawsuit, which began in May last year, could lead to compensation claims against the former head of the management reform division and the bureau chief in charge.
The city is considering disciplinary action for the officials involved.
(This article was written by Tatsuya Harada and Amane Sugawara.)
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