Suicide After Filing Allegations: “Serious Reason” Why Former Prefectural Director Accused of Power Harassment by Hyogo Governor Saito Took His Own Life

The suicide of one former official has thrown the Hyogo prefectural government into further turmoil.

On July 7, it was revealed that Mr. A, 60, former director of the Nishi-Harima Prefectural Office, who had accused Motohiko Saito, 46, Hyogo Governor, of power harassment and seven other allegations, had died in Himeji City. Mr. A was scheduled to appear as a witness on June 19. The prefectural government officials could not hide their surprise at the sudden death, and the calls to the prefectural government protesting the incident have been nonstop.

In the May 27 FRIDAY Digital article, ” Whistle-blowing sends the Hyogo Prefectural Government into an ‘Unusually Great Turmoil’ as Documents Alleging Governor’s ‘Begging’ and ‘Power Harassment’ Spread, ” the governor’s power harassment allegations, the confusion in the prefecture, and the internal situation toward the establishment of the Article 100 Committee were reported in detail. The report details the governor’s alleged power harassment, the confusion in the prefecture, and the internal situation leading up to the establishment of the Article 100 Committee. Why in the world did the courageous accuser have to choose death?

I still can’t believe he took his own life. He had been preparing so steadily for the Hundred Articles Committee. ……”

A man who knew Mr. A for many years and had a good relationship with him revealed, “According to this man, Mr. A was a member of the committee for 19 years.

According to this man, Mr. A was steadily preparing to appear as a witness before the Article 100 Committee, which was scheduled for January 19.

The last time I contacted him was about a week before he died. At that time, he said, ‘I am preparing for the Article 100 Committee. I will do my best!’ I’ll do my best! When he participated in meetings related to the prefecture, he was very motivated, saying, ‘I will reveal the truth at the Article 100 Committee. That is why the surprise at his suicide is so great. …… I also heard that he left a message in his suicide note asking for the continuation of the Article 100 Committee, which seems to be typical of him, who was more concerned about the future of the prefecture than anyone else.

A former senior prefectural official who was in close contact with Mr. A continued, “I was in frequent contact with him.

I was in frequent contact with him, and he was making meticulous preparations for the committee. He was a well-liked man, and the prefecture staff is deeply saddened by his death.

Following Mr. A’s suicide, the prefectural employees’ labor union filed a petition with Governor Saito, calling for his resignation. In response, the governor has denied resigning, saying that it is his responsibility to rebuild a better prefectural administration.

The prefectural government official also stated that “Mr. A was very concerned about the invasion of his privacy with regard to the Article 100 Committee. The committee members also demanded the disclosure of data files on Mr. A’s computer, which had nothing to do with the accusations.

However, just as he was about to appear as a witness, for some reason, one of the committee members said, “All materials related to the personnel investigation should be disclosed. Naturally, there is no need to disclose even materials that have nothing to do with the investigation.

This magazine obtained a copy of the letter that Mr. A submitted through his lawyer to the Committee on Hundred Articles.

The letter stated, among other things, that Mr. A’s right to privacy had been violated and that the committee should give the utmost consideration to his fundamental human rights. The data files were then checked and found to be irrelevant to the investigation of the authenticity of the accusation, and the committee was nailed to refrain from requesting the personnel department to disclose the data files. A prefectural government official said, “Mr. A protested to the Personnel Division.

When Mr. A protested to the Personnel Division, he was told, ‘If you have a problem with disclosure, file a complaint with the Article 100 Committee. I heard that Mr. A was exhausted and appeared to be in a state of distress.

However, at the emergency board meeting of the Article 100 Committee held on July 8 in response to Mr. A’s complaint, a number of comments were made that were hard to believe. One prefectural assembly official lamented.

The only group that opposed the establishment of the committee was the Ishin-no-Kai. It was only the Restoration Association that opposed the nondisclosure of materials unrelated to this case. At the emergency board meeting, a member of the Restoration Association said, ‘In this text, there are descriptions about the Governor’s likes and dislikes, as well as descriptions about the private life of Lieutenant Governor Katayama, including his family and schoolmates from his student days, with personal identification. As a party (Mr. A), it is too convenient and self-serving ethics to ask him not to disclose the results of his own investigation because it is a private matter, while addressing private matters. It is also inappropriate for Mr. A’s representative to make a judgment as to whether or not privacy is involved,” he said. Some pointed out that this was indeed an outlandish argument, and the majority voted in favor of not allowing the submission of any materials not related to the investigation after objections were raised by the other factions. Still, the Restoration Association members held their ground.”

This emergency board meeting was held the day after Mr. A’s death. Many of the prefectural assembly members knew of his death as early as the morning of the day of the meeting,” said a source close to the prefectural assembly. The “A” in “A” is the name of a man who was killed in a car accident.

The possibility cannot be denied that the incident at hand had pushed Mr. A into a mental corner. If he knew that he was dead and was still using the whip on the dead, it makes me question his humanity as an individual, rather than as a member of the Diet.

A prefectural assembly member said that the Hyakujokai Committee meeting on January 19 will be held as scheduled. The results of a survey of prefectural employees will also become a point of contention. After Mr. A’s death, some people have been saying, “Even within the LDP, Mr. A’s views have changed,” said a prefectural assembly member.

A prefectural assembly member said, “There were some members of the LDP who thought that the death of Mr. A would make it difficult for the committee to continue its work. However, the majority of them thought that the truth should be clarified, and the committee decided to continue the meeting. Even within the Restoration Association, there were many opinions, especially among the younger members, that ‘the governor’s response was indeed not good. But the decision-making of the association is done by a few people in the upper echelons, and it is completely top-down. Although there are prefectural assembly members who feel uncomfortable with that response, they are unable to speak up.

Before retiring from the prefectural government, Mr. A wrote this column. Here is an excerpt

We are public servants. We work for the people of the prefecture. We should not do our jobs for ourselves or for our own prosperity. We must not take advantage of our work. And we must not act on our own profit and loss, and we must not select others. Promotion and advancement are the result, not the goal. (omission) I want you, as a human being, to always keep in mind the importance of taking care of others, being righteous, and being faithful. And even if you fall short in your attempts to be reasonable, even if you are bounced back against the wall of unreasonable reality, please do not give up. Keep in mind, “Someday, I’m sure.”

The uproar that began with one person’s letter of accusation has grown to such an extent that it has gone beyond the framework of the governor’s advancement or retreat and has spilled over into political disputes and issues related to the soundness of prefectural administration. It is a world far removed from the concepts of righteousness and sincerity that Mr. A had hoped for.