JIP Hyogo assembly members: Aren’t they aware that their actions distorted election?

Editorial

15:00 JST, February 25, 2025

It is utterly astonishing that Hyogo Prefectural Assembly members spread unverified information in connection with the Hyogo gubernatorial election last November. Their responsibility for the distortion of an election, which should be fair, is grave.

Furthermore, at a press conference, while they apologized, they also gave an explanation that seemed to be an attempt to justify themselves. How do the citizens of Hyogo Prefecture view the words and actions of the assembly members they elected?

Three prefectural assembly members from the Japan Innovation Party admitted that, during the gubernatorial election campaign, they had been involved in providing Takashi Tachibana, the leader of the political organization NHK Party, with audio data and documents related to private information of a former senior prefectural official who had earlier made whistleblowing accusations against Gov. Motohiko Saito.

The audio is said to be a recording that the prefectural assembly members secretly made during the questioning of a former deputy governor by a special prefectural assembly committee set up under Article 100 of the Local Government Law, even though the committee had decided that the questioning would be closed to the public. The recording included audio of a scene in which the former deputy governor was stopped from mentioning private information about the former senior prefectural official that had nothing to do with the whistleblowing.

Meanwhile, the documents handed to Tachibana contained content that slandered the former senior official and a former prefectural assembly member who had been trying to hold the governor accountable. The author of some of the documents is unknown.

Based on such information, Tachibana had made assertions during his election campaign in support of the governor, saying that the former senior official was the one who should be blamed and that “Saito was not bad.” Tachibana also turned his criticism on the former prefectural assembly member who was trying to hold the governor accountable.

As a result, social media became flooded with unreliable information. Not only did this lead to the spread of slander and defamation, but it may also have had an impact on the result of the election.

It would not be unreasonable to accuse the actions of the three prefectural assembly members of a deliberate attempt to use Tachibana to shape public opinion.

The former prefectural senior official and the former prefectural assembly member who was trying to hold the governor accountable have both died. The former prefectural assembly member was said to have been suffering as a result of slander and defamation. Both deaths are believed to have been suicides.

In response to the latest issue, two of the three prefectural assembly members resigned from the special committee to take responsibility. But is that enough?

At the press conference, one of the prefectural assembly members said that the reason he provided information to Tachibana was because “the media was not releasing information that the citizens of the prefecture should know.” This is completely out of line. It is only natural for news organizations not to report information that is unverified.

The three prefectural assembly members voted in favor of a no-confidence motion against the governor last year. The latest development shows that the three in effect supported Saito, even though a former JIP member was running as a candidate in the gubernatorial election. This raises questions about the JIP’s governing function as a political party.

JIP Representative Hirofumi Yoshimura commented on what the prefectural assembly members did, saying, “I understand their feelings, but it is against the rules.” His lenient attitude toward his own people appears to have invited their undisciplined behavior.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 25, 2025)