Hyogo Prefectural Assembly Panel Confirms ‘Certain Facts’ in Investigation of Harassment Accusations Against Gov. Saito

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, March 7, 2025

The Hyogo Prefectural Assembly approved by majority vote the investigation report by its Article 100 Committee at Wednesday’s plenary session, stating that “certain facts have been confirmed” in the case of Gov. Motohiko Saito, who is accused of workplace harassment and other actions.

At a regular press conference that day, Saito said he “takes the matter very seriously,” but did not change his prior position that the prefectural government’s response to whistleblowing by a senior employee was appropriate. He also stated that the workplace harassment allegations were “within the scope of business necessity” and indicated that he would not accept the report.

In March 2024, the former director of the Nishi-Harima regional affairs bureau who died in July, sent a document to some media outlets and other parties making allegations against Saito. The director reported the matter through the prefectural whistleblower protection system in April. Then in May, the prefectural government deemed “the core of the document was untrue” and suspended him for three months on grounds including three instances of other inappropriate behavior, such as personal use of a public computer during work hours.

The report stated that “certain facts have been confirmed” among the seven allegations made in the document regarding allegations of Saito’s workplace harassment and his acceptance of gifts. The prefectural government’s series of actions, including Saito’s instruction to his subordinates to search for the whistleblower and his public disclosure of the whistleblower at a press conference, “likely violated the Whistleblower Protection Law,” the report said.

However, Saito explained at the press conference that “the [document] contains things that are not true, and we had to find out who made it. There was no issue with the prefecture’s response to the case, and it was appropriate.” He also said, “If you say there’s a ‘possibility of illegality,’ there should be other possibilities.”

Regarding the allegations of workplace harassment, the report found to be factual the accusations of Saito banging on the desk in anger and yelling at employees on a business trip when they made him get out of his official car and walk 20 meters. The report pointed out that it was “no exaggeration to say that these were acts of harassment,” but Saito reiterated his previous assertions and said, “In general, the final decision is made in the court of justice.”