Expelled for Probing Missing Funds—Ex-Director Exposes Kansai Economic Club Turmoil
Unprecedented expulsion at a long-established organization
The author has in hand a club bulletin featuring smiling photographs of prominent lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties, along with their New Year’s greetings. Even looking at the past four years, the lineup includes notable figures such as Kenta Izumi (50), former leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party, and Motohisa Furukawa (59), deputy representative of the Democratic Party for the People, from the opposition. From the ruling party, it includes former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura (62) and Takayuki Kobayashi (50), known as “Kobahawk.”
The bulletin is published by an organization called the Osaka Economic Club, a general incorporated association headquartered in Nakano Ward, Tokyo.
Founded in Osaka in 1986, the club states on its website that its purpose is to organize networking events for people, including executives from government agencies and businesses. It primarily targets small and medium-sized business owners and hosts cross-industry networking events annually in Tokyo. The attendee lists from past regular meetings include not only legal heavyweights like former Prosecutor General Yusuke Yoshinaga (deceased) but also executives from Japan’s leading industries, such as major developers like Taisei Corporation and Obayashi Corporation, energy companies like Tokyo Electric Power and Tokyo Gas, and trading giants like Itochu Corporation and Mitsui & Co. It is truly a long-established organization with history and tradition.
However, this long-standing institution is now embroiled in an astonishing controversy, as revealed through this magazine’s investigation. What exactly is happening?
“Myself, Senior Executive Director A, and Advisor B—three of us were suddenly and unilaterally expelled from the club by Chairman X during a board meeting last September. The decision was made by Chairman X and his close associate, the vice chairman. We sent formal notices requesting an explanation for our expulsion, but received no reply. We also submitted a motion to demand their removal, but again, no response. Currently, the three of us are considering legal action to seek the revocation of our expulsion.”
Speaking with restrained anger, one of the three, Kaori Fujieda (45), a former director of the club, makes this revelation. Fujieda runs an osteopathy business in Tokyo. In December 2022, she met Chairman X through an acquaintance and was invited to join the board. A was also invited by Chairman X around the same time and became a director in January 2023, later being promoted to senior executive director in August of the same year. Together with B, who had long served as an advisor, the three played a crucial role in the club’s operations.
In fact, under their involvement, attendance at the club’s regular meetings—previously limited to a few dozen people—grew to over 100, thanks to their outreach efforts and personal networks.
