Issue of Hyogo Pref. Govt Information Leak: Despicable Act to Undermine the Character of Whistleblower

Editorial

15:51 JST, May 29, 2025

The personal information of a prefectural government official who accused the governor of workplace bullying was leaked externally, and there are growing suspicions that it was the governor himself who directed the leak.

If the leak was intended to give the impression that the accusations were false by undermining the whistleblower’s character, it would be extremely despicable. The governor cannot evade responsibility as the very foundation of the whistleblowing system could be shaken.

In the whistleblowing case involving Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito, the prefectural government’s third-party committee has released an investigation report that found that a former head of the prefectural government’s general affairs department leaked personal information about the former director of the prefectural government’s Nishiharima District Administration Office to three prefectural assembly members.

Several senior officials, including the former head of the general affairs department, testified to the third-party committee that they were “directed by the governor to ‘share the information.’”

The report concluded that “there is a strong possibility that the leak was directed by Saito.”

At a press conference, Saito denied the content of the report, saying he does not acknowledge that he gave the direction. What is being called into question is not his acknowledgement but fact. His stance of not being willing to admit to the facts is noticeable.

The leak of the whistleblower’s personal information to the prefectural assembly, which was unrelated to the content of the accusations, is strongly believed to have been an attempt to “destroy the accuser” in the form of laying groundwork to the assembly. The former director later died, and it is believed to be a suicide.

Saito has so far repeatedly responded to the situation as if it were somebody else’s problem and has done nothing but try to evade responsibility.

When another third-party panel that investigated the facts of the former director’s accusations found that Saito had engaged in workplace bullying and pointed out that the prefectural government’s handling of the whistleblowing case was “illegal” and “inappropriate,” Saito insisted that the prefectural government’s response was appropriate and did not take any action against himself.

When the Consumer Affairs Agency complained that Saito’s remarks on the whistleblowing system differed from the official view, he simply said: “I was given advice on general legal interpretation. I’d like to take the advice seriously.”

This time, Saito stated that he will consider punishing himself and apologizing to the bereaved family of the former director for the information leak as “the responsibility of the organization,” but he did not admit to his involvement in the leak. This may be hardly acceptable to the bereaved family.

The turmoil in the prefectural government shows no sign of abating. More than 100 prefectural government employees in departments and bureaus under the governor resigned last fiscal year. The prefectural government cites the reason for this is due to the vitalization of the market for those hoping to change jobs. However, many of them may have given up on working for the prefectural government under Saito.

It is obvious that Saito is not worthy of the post of governor. How long will he continue to take a defiant stance while turning a blind eye to the seriousness of the problem? If he refuses to decide on whether to step down from the post, it would be an option for the prefectural assembly to force Saito to resign once again.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 29, 2025)