Governor’s Confession of Determination! A “swampy court battle” is raging between the Governor of Yamanashi Prefecture and Fujikyuko Co.

In Yamanashi Prefecture, there is currently an unbelievable trouble between the prefectural governor and Fujikyu, one of the largest corporations in the prefecture. The trouble has reached the point of a legal battle, with Fujikyu winning the case in the first instance last December. The governor immediately appealed the case, and the situation has become a quagmire.

The trigger for this event dates back to 2003. The trigger for this was back in 2003, when Kotaro Nagasaki, 54, the current governor of Yamanashi Prefecture, told us, “At that time, I was a member of the House of Representatives.

I was a member of the House of Representatives at the time, and when I began to investigate a complaint I had long heard from a constituent that there were people doing business by renting vast tracts of land at low rents, I discovered that the rents for prefectural land along Lake Yamanaka were based on the assumption that the land was a “mountain forest wilderness before development. It is a vacation home only 5 minutes from the highway, there is a golf course nearby, and the prefecture has invested money to develop roads and living infrastructure, yet the same price per square meter was applied as that of the ski resort ‘Fujiten Snow Resort’ located deep in the mountains.”

In ’17, a man living in Minami-Alps City filed a residents’ lawsuit demanding payment of approximately 15.9 billion yen, claiming that “the rent for the 352 hectares of prefectural land leased by Yamanashi Prefecture to Fujikyuko is unreasonably low. This made Nagasaki, who won the ’19 gubernatorial election, a defendant in the lawsuit.

I said many times that we should discuss the issue with an open mind, but at the time, the prefectural government was in bed with Fujikyu and shared all the information with them while fighting the case. I thought this was too much collusion, so I first replaced the lawyer. I consulted with my colleagues at the University of Tokyo School of Law, my alma mater, and they recommended Tadasu Adachi. As a result, we came to the conclusion that the rent was not fair, and we decided to change our policy to pursue the truth.

The sudden change of policy by the governor threw the assembly into confusion. However, the proposal for settlement was buried in the face of opposition from the Seishin-kai, the largest faction of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which is the same as the governor’s. “Surprisingly, even the Communist Party was hostile to the proposal.

The surprising thing is that even the Communist Party has turned against it. They had long argued that the rent for the prefectural land was too low, and they began accusing me in the assembly of ‘not seeing the process of policy change. The local media, including newspapers and TV, would report the claims of the ‘Seishinkai’ well, but my statements were only on point. They ridiculed me and bent my words.

In March 2009, Fujikyu filed a lawsuit seeking confirmation that the lease agreement with the prefecture was valid and that the prefecture had no right to claim damages from the company. In July of the same year, the prefecture filed a countersuit, opening up a “doronuma legal battle.

The point of contention was whether the rent for the prefectural land by Lake Yamanaka was fair or not. The current rent is about 300 million yen, but the prefectural government claims that the appropriate rent is about 2 billion yen. The prefectural government claimed that the current rent is about 300 million yen, but the prefecture claimed that the “appropriate rent is about 2 billion yen.” The Kofu District Court rejected the claim that the lease contract is illegal and invalid and demanded payment of 9.3 billion yen, including the difference between the appropriate rent and compensation for damages. Fujikyu won the case. There is a reason why Mr. Nagasaki is so determined.

Our goal is to become an education-oriented prefecture. We want to correct the educational gap by revitalizing public education, and we want to expand the number of classes to 25. As a measure to combat the declining birthrate, we are also promoting the training of embryologists so that they can provide fertility treatment at the University of Yamanashi. However, all of these measures require financial resources. In order to achieve this without raising taxes, a major theme is the utilization of prefectural land, which accounts for 30% of the prefectural land, and an important part of this is the 440 hectares by Lake Yamanaka.

Even if the rent of the prefectural land rises, the local tax subsidy will not be reduced. The entire amount of revenue will increase. This is significant. The entire amount will be returned to the residents of the prefecture, and everything will be made transparent. Currently, almost all lessees of prefectural-owned land (other than Fujikyu) have agreed (to the rent revision). If it is too high, we are reducing or exempting the rent. Both the prefecture and Fujikyu want to value children’s dreams and possibilities. There is no reason why we cannot understand each other.”

On the other hand, Fujikyu, while showing that the current rent was appraised as “appropriate” by the three major appraisal firms in Japan and that the court also ruled that the rent was calculated in accordance with the evaluation method of the Real Estate Appraisal Standards, refuted the claim, saying, “The lease contract for the land in question is illegal.

He also stated, “I think it would be difficult to have a constructive discussion with them if they are claiming that the lease contract for the land in question is illegal and invalid, and they are appealing the case. However, under the current circumstances, we believe that the residents living on the Lake Yamanaka Prefecture-owned land will be burdened by the unfair revision of the rent, and that this may actually hinder the development of the region.

Mr. Nagasaki expressed his resolve.

The opinion of the three major appraisal firms was based on the assumption that the land would be a forested wilderness before development, so to speak. If we accept this, no matter how much we develop the Lake Yamanaka area, it will forever be fixed as a ‘pre-development forested wilderness,’ and we will leave a very bad name to future generations.”

In Mr. Nagasaki’s final words, “If we can find a solution that is good for both sides, there will no longer be a need for a trial,” this magazine saw a bright future for Yamanashi. ……

From theFebruary 24, 2023issue of“FRIDAY