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Report: Nara prefectural assemblyman bought books with public money

Akira Nakamura
Akira Nakamura (Twitter)

NARA (TR) – A prefectural assemblyman here spent public funds on children’s picture books and romance novels, TV Asahi reported on Tuesday (Oct. 4).

Akira Nakamura, 71, bought over 9,000 yen worth of picture books and romance novels from 2012-2014, according to TV Asahi.

“I bought them at bookstores because I wanted to see what kind of books young mothers were reading when raising their kids,” Nakamura was seen telling TV Asahi in an interview as he waved his glasses. “That’s all there is to it.”

Receipts provided to TV Asahi by Nakamura did not specify the book titles, and some of the entries he wrote by hand did not match the actual books.

The secretariat of the Nara Prefectural Assembly said the matter was “up to Nakamura and his accountability.”