“The Godfather of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly,” Isao Kurauchi, Reveals “Suspicious Bidding Results” for the One Health Project He Championed!

A flagship project

Construction is proceeding at a rapid pace on a vast tract of land in Miyama City, Fukuoka Prefecture—an area equivalent to two Tokyo Domes. Signs reading “One Health Town” were displayed in the surrounding area. Serious suspicions are now surfacing regarding this flagship project spearheaded by a man known as the “godfather of the prefectural assembly.”

“One Health” is a philosophy that aims to “integratedly protect the health of humans and animals and a healthy global environment.”Fukuoka has been working as a prefecture to promote and advance One Health initiatives, with former Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly Speaker Isao Kurauchi (72) publicly declaring it his “life’s work” and, as president of the Asian Veterinary Medical Association, adopting the “Asia One Health Fukuoka Declaration 2022.”

“The One Health Center (tentative name), scheduled to be established in Miyama City, was a facility that could be considered a symbol of this effort.However, following the resignation of a series of prefectural assembly members—including Mr. Kurauchi—amid allegations of financial impropriety surrounding the positions of chair and vice-chair of the prefectural assembly, as well as issues regarding expensive overseas study tours, the prefecture announced a freeze on new One Health projects. Some construction work has been halted.

Criticism has also mounted over the fact that construction costs for the One Health Center had ballooned to 22.1 billion yen—more than double the original estimate—and Fukuoka Governor Seitaro Hattori (72) has hinted at a change in direction, stating, ‘We will review the project, including the possibility of scrapping it.’” (Local newspaper reporter)

Will the project press ahead as is? Or will it be scrapped entirely? As the One Health project reaches a critical juncture, suspicions are emerging—and this is the information the author has obtained. The photo below shows a portion of the bidding results for construction work related to the One Health Center.

Construction projects related to the One Health Center—such as the Animal Health and Hygiene Center and substation facilities—are conducted through open bidding, with the estimated bid prices announced in advance.However, of the 16 construction projects awarded between July 2025 and July of this year, as many as seven—roughly half—were single-bid projects. Even among projects that initially had two or more competing bidders, four ultimately became single-bid projects due to withdrawals. In other words, 11 out of the 16 projects were effectively single-bid projects.

Looking at the “bid-to-estimate ratio”—which indicates the percentage of the actual bid amount relative to the estimated price published by Fukuoka Prefecture, the contracting authority—this ratio exceeded 99% for the eight projects that were effectively single-bid. There was even one project where the ratio reached 100%.

Generally, when the winning bid rate exceeds 99 percent, concerns are raised regarding the possible leakage of the estimated price or collusion. While it is not uncommon to re-bid when single-bid situations occur repeatedly, this has not been done for the One Health Center-related projects.

Although the estimated bid prices are disclosed in advance, given the frequent occurrence of both single-bid situations and 99 percent award rates, it must be said that the level of competition required for public works projects is lacking.

“Half of the projects have a bid success rate exceeding 99 percent, and there have been as many as seven single-bid tenders. I believe there is a high likelihood that the fairness of the bidding process has been compromised. It is also possible that collusion took place among bidders regarding the allocation of contracts for each project,” said Masaru Wakasa, a former prosecutor with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s Special Investigations Unit and now a lawyer.

“It’s a disgrace to Fukuoka.”

Strangely enough, however, allegations of bid-rigging related to the One Health Center construction project have never been raised as an agenda item in the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. Behind this lies the “culture” of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. A current member of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly explains:

“Miyama City is the town next to Chikugo City, Mr. Kurauchi’s home district.Mr. Kurauchi also serves as a standing advisor to the ‘Fukuoka Construction Industry Association’ and wields significant influence in the construction industry. Even if they think something is ‘off,’ there’s a prevailing sentiment among assembly members that ‘even if we speak up, nothing will change as long as the LDP caucus, led by Mr. Kurauchi, holds about half the seats.’

“Including this construction project, the flow of funds related to the One Health initiative must be brought to light in future prefectural assembly sessions,”

The One Health Center is being built on the site of a former university, land that Miyama City provided to the prefecture free of charge. However, construction is proceeding while the facility’s intended use remains unclear, and there have been a series of criticisms from citizens.City Council Member Yoshinori Koga (73), who is running in the Miyama mayoral election scheduled for October, lamented the city’s current situation as follows:

“The overwhelming majority of people are saying, ‘We don’t need the One Health Center anymore.’ They ask, ‘We’re providing the land for free, yet it’s not as if our finances are improving. Why does Miyama City have to be the one facing criticism?’”

Regarding the fact that the One Health Center-related construction projects have seen a 99% bid acceptance rate and a series of single-bid situations—leading to criticism that the projects lack the competitiveness essential for public works—what is the prefecture’s position? The Fukuoka Prefectural Government’s Public Relations Division responded to an inquiry from FRIDAY as follows:

“Since we do not publicly disclose the identities of bidders in advance, and because the process is conducted via electronic bidding, bidders are unable to know the participation status of others; they participate in the bidding on the assumption that other bidders are present.

For this reason, we believe that competitiveness is ensured even in cases where only one bidder submits a bid. Furthermore, our prefecture publishes the estimated contract price in advance, and we consider bids to be appropriate as long as they fall within that range.”

We also sought the opinion of Mr. Kurauchi, who has been promoting the One Health initiative, but received no response by the deadline.

When I visited the “One Health Carbon” monument—designed with the collaboration of architect Kengo Kuma and built by Fukuoka Prefecture at a cost of approximately 280 million yen—I noticed the words “The One Health philosophy actively pursued by Chairman Isao Kurauchi (omitted)” engraved on a stone monument at the base.An elderly man who said he was from Omuta City cast a glance at it and spat out these words:

“It’s a disgrace to Fukuoka…”

From the October 16, 2026 issue of *FRIDAY*