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It is obvious that acts that undermine a whistleblower and disregard the whistleblowing system are unacceptable. The governor must admit his fault and put an end to the prolonged turmoil.
The Hyogo Prefectural Assembly has approved an investigative report by the so-called Article 100 Committee, which was set up by the assembly, on whistleblowing about workplace bullying allegations and other issues surrounding Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito.
The report acknowledged that Saito and others did not take action based on the whistleblowing system, but instead quickly identified the whistleblower through their own investigation and took disciplinary action against him, which were deemed to be part of efforts to “crush a whistleblower.”
Saito has claimed that the accusation was a “bunch of lies.” However, the report concluded that the handling of the matter highly likely violated the Whistleblower Protection Law, which prohibits any disadvantageous treatment of whistleblowers. It also said that “it is not an exaggeration to say that the act of Saito having berated prefectural government officials was workplace bullying.”
Although not legally binding, the report is the conclusion of the assembly that represents the will of the people of the prefecture. Saito should honestly admit to his mistakes and show — through his actions — how he takes responsibility.
Nevertheless, Saito still continues to insist as before that his response was “appropriate.” This is tantamount to saying that if a similar situation were to occur in the future, he would again crush a whistleblower.
With this attitude, how can the highest authority in the prefectural government build a relationship of trust with prefectural officials and smoothly carry out his duties? There must be something that needs to be done, such as establishing rules to protect whistleblowers.
Saito should no longer continue to insist on his legitimacy and treat the situation as if it were someone else’s problem. It is time to think about how to bring the situation under control.
It will soon be one year since the turmoil in the prefectural government, but the unusual situation has not been resolved at all. The former senior prefectural official who accused Saito died in July last year, and the former prefectural assembly member who was defamed on social media as the “mastermind” who drove Saito into a corner died in January this year. Both are believed to have committed suicide.
In the most recent gubernatorial election in which Saito was reelected, information of unknown veracity spread on social media. One reason why is said to be that two prefectural assembly members of the Japan Innovation Party at that time handed a document and other materials that defamed the former prefectural assembly member and others to Takashi Tachibana, the leader of the NHK Party political group.
The two prefectural assembly members were both a part of the Article 100 Committee. The erosion of trust in the assembly is also serious.
In connection with the reelection, a public relations firm on Saito’s side has been under a compulsory investigation by the Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office and the prefectural police on suspicion of violating the Public Offices Election Law. The divide between those who support the governor and those who oppose him continues to deepen.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and House of Councillors elections are coming up this summer. The central government also needs to hurry to resolve relevant issues so that another situation, like the one in Hyogo Prefecture, will not take place again.
