Fukuoka

Le semeur.

Fukuoka.

Touc.

[rire] Non, mais vraiment.

His mother, who agreed with great reluctance to let him play video games as long as he studied, passed away from breast cancer 13 years ago.

Too much power? The rise and fall of Isao Kurouchi in Fukuoka.

In autumn 2014, after establishing himself as the most powerful politician in Fukuoka Prefecture, Isao Kurouchi appeared stunned over a longtime supporter's advice that he resign from the prefectural assembly.

At that point, Kurouchi, who rose to prominence as a generous individual, loyal associate, and overall good guy, may have forgotten his role to the public, the former supporter said.

He ignored that advice.

But more than a decade later, Kurouchi, 72, was essentially forced to resign as a member of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly on August 25th.

He got caught up in a financial scandal involving alleged tactics that were a far cry from his earlier clean politician image.

Assembly dubbed Kurouchi Kingdom.

Asked about the impact of the sanctions, Kihara said the government was closely monitoring the situation, stopping short of outlining any further action.

Fukuoka Assembly don quits seat amid cash scandal.

After coming under heavy fire amid a money scandal, Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly Speaker Isao Kurouchi resigned his assembly seat on August twenty-fifth.

Kurouchi's resignation reverses his long-held refusal to step down as a lawmaker over alleged demand for payments tied to obtaining the legislature's top posts.

Speaking to the Asahi Shimbun on August twenty-fifth, Kurouchi, seventy-two, said a political ethics ordinance the assembly aims to enact during its September session paved the way for his departure.

On August twenty-third, he told them to file it the following morning.

Later in Tokyo, Kurouchi told reporters from multiple news organizations that he would resign both as speaker and as a prefectural assembly member.

"I am resigning as speaker of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly and as a member of the assembly," he said.

In this episode, another instalment of The Comics Question, where Bernard Kaleo discusses comics, graphic novels, and the place they inhabit within the broader books and publishing world.

Bernard was joined by Aki Fukuoka, children's book illustrator and graphic novelist, who has worked on over 80 children's books, most notably Sally Rippon's beloved Billy B.

Brown series.

The two met to discuss the newest iteration in this series, a first graphic novel collaboration for Rippon and Fukuoka, and how, for Aki, this form of children's illustration is inextricably linked to another illustrated storytelling tradition, that of Japanese comics, or manga.

Hope you enjoy their conversation.

Here's Bernard to introduce.

Welcome one and all to The Comics Question, a corner of the Readings podcast in which we discuss, investigate, uncover and elaborate questions of the comic book art form, the beautiful comic book art form.

I'm the host of The Comics Question, Bernard Callio, and today we are talking with Aki Fukuoka.