Penalties in Whistleblowing System: The Weight of Protecting Accusers Must Be Seriously Taken to Heart

Editorial

16:15 JST, June 5, 2025

The revision of the Whistleblower Protection Law can be described as an attempt to ensure protection for those who accuse others of wrongdoing or illegal acts within their organizations. Local governments and corporations should take the newly established penalties seriously.

A bill to revise the law, meant to offer whistleblowers more robust protection, has been passed. It received unanimous support in the House of Representatives and the backing of a significant majority in the House of Councillors.

The current law prohibits local governments, private companies and other entities from conducting disadvantageous treatment to those who report illegal acts in their organizations to internal sections to deal with whistleblowing, media organizations or others. However, there are no penalties at present.

The revised law stipulates a fine of up to ¥30 million for corporations that dismiss or take disciplinary action against a whistleblower for leveling an accusation. Individuals who are involved in decisions to punish whistleblowers are to be jailed for up to six months or fined up to ¥300,000.

In addition, the revised law states explicitly that whistleblowers may not be sought out. Under the current law, this is noted in the guidelines.

In the past, whistleblowers have revealed that information on food labels was being falsified and that vehicle recalls were not issued when they should have been. There are many examples of whistleblowers uncovering irregularities in organizations.

However, if those who speak out about offenses are mistreated, there will be no one left to blow the whistle. Establishing penalties to prevent undue pressure on whistleblowers is a significant step.

The importance of the whistleblowing system has been underlined again by the turmoil that has plagued the Hyogo prefectural government since last year. Gov. Motohiko Saito has repeatedly acted in a way that appears to have trampled on the spirit of the law.

Saito directed a search for a former senior official in the prefectural government who accused him of alleged workplace bullying, among other things, and identified the accuser. The prefectural government then took disciplinary action against the former official. He later died in what is believed to have been a suicide.

This year, a third-party committee set up by the prefectural government concluded that the search for the accuser and the disciplinary action were violations of the Whistleblower Protection Law. However, Saito still denies any illegality. He has said that the conclusions of the committee and others are “just one view” and that his “perception differs” from them.

Although third parties pointed out his offense, Saito simply became defiant, and he has evinced no shred of sincerity as he continues to evade the issue.

The penalties in the revised law do not apply retroactively, but the Diet’s passage of the revised bill by an overwhelming margin clearly demonstrates how unjust the disciplinary action against the former official was.

A new allegation has surfaced that personal information about the former official was leaked externally at Saito’s direction. As long as Saito refuses to admit to his wrongdoing and remains in his post, the turmoil in the prefectural government will not abate.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 5, 2025)