[Limitations to cover for the governor: ……] “Background of too much irresponsibility” of Hyogo Governor Saito’s close associates who left one after another.

One month has passed since the suicide of Mr. A., 60, a former prefectural executive who accused Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito, 46, of numerous allegations.

Governor Saito, who entered his fourth year in office during this period, again denied resigning. He has indicated that he intends to continue as governor until his term expires next July, saying, “I was entrusted by the people of the prefecture in the election.”

However, the four prefectural executives who supported Saito are unlikely to accompany him to the end of his term. They are leaving one after another in anticipation of the upcoming full-fledged Hundred Articles Committee and other meetings. The governor, who had been on secondment to Gyugujou since 2001 as a bureaucrat in the General Affairs Bureau, and the four officials dispatched from Hyogo Prefecture had been hanging out together frequently in Sendai since that time, and were ridiculed as the “Gyugujou Club. The people at the helm of prefectural government have begun to distance themselves from the prefecture for various reasons, including poor health, and Hyogo Prefecture is now in unprecedented turmoil.

The first to leave the prefecture was Deputy Governor Yasutaka Katayama, Saito’s right-hand man, who held a press conference on July 12 and announced his early resignation, saying, “I am really very disappointed. He resigned on July 31.

Katayama continued to come to the prefectural office after announcing his resignation, but he was rarely seen in the main office. The media was chasing him to hear what he had to say, so he stayed out of sight and quietly left the office. There was not even a ceremony on his last day of work.”

Next, Koichi Kobashi, the prefecture’s number four person in charge of coordinating support for youth and Generation Z, complained of poor health and submitted a request for transfer. In response, the prefecture demoted Director Kobashi to a department head-level position attached to the General Affairs Department. He is also the person who has been in charge of the prefecture’s response after the accusations were filed.

In the July 25 issue of Shukan Bunshun, an early print version of an article titled “Hyogo Governor’s Power Harassment Accusation: The ‘Seven Blackmailers’ Who Drove Former Bureau Chief to Suicide” made known the threatening actions of four executives, including Director Kobashi, toward Mr. A. The article was published in the July 17 issue of Shukan Bunshun, a weekly magazine. Until July 17, when the article went to press, Mr. A was performing his duties with a nonchalant expression on his face. Even so, by the afternoon of that day, Director Kobashi’s face was said to have gone pale, and he stopped coming to the office the following day on the 18th. On the following day, the 22nd, he officially submitted a request for demotion.

There is a persistent view within the Agency that “certain actions” of the above two individuals, including Governor Saito, were the cause of Mr. A’s choice to die. Two days before March 27, when Governor Saito condemned Mr. A at a press conference, calling him “a pack of lies” and “an unqualified public servant,” Deputy Governor Katayama and Mr. Kobashi interviewed Mr. A. It is believed that Mr. A was driven into a corner by his words and actions. A man who knows Mr. A clearly changed his behavior from the day of the interview,” said the man .

What I find most upsetting about the way Governor Saito and the prefectural government handled the situation is their attitude of declaring A’s accusations to be untrue and false. Rather, he pleaded with Lieutenant Governor Katayama and Director Kobashi, saying, “I want you to investigate this matter thoroughly. Yet, he was shocked that Governor Saito even called him a ‘disqualified public servant’ at a press conference immediately afterward. He was stunned and wondered what he had done for Hyogo Prefecture.

Even worse in reputation among prefectural officials than Vice Governor Katayama and Director Kobashi are Tomoaki Inomoto, Director of the General Affairs Department, and Tsuyoharu Harada, Director of the Industrial and Labor Affairs Department. Mr. Inomoto complained of poor health on July 30 and was absent from committee meetings and other events. Mr. Harada is being voluntarily interviewed by the prefectural police on suspicion of having received goods from a company.

Mr. Inomoto suddenly submitted a medical certificate and complained of poor health. When he arrived at the office, he spoke to familiar reporters but did not appear at any public meetings, including committee meetings. Mr. Harada, on the other hand, continued to come to the office with an unconcerned face even after the outbreak of the commotion. When he attended a reception related to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he was drinking normally, and I heard that he was so imposing that those around him were worried.

One prefectural assembly member is indignant that three of Governor Saito’s close associates, excluding Mr. Harada, left before the investigation by the Hyakujokai Committee could get underway in earnest, saying, “I can’t think of anything other than self-preservation.

It is inevitable that the Hundred Commission, which has strong investigative capabilities, will intensify its pursuit of the executives. We can only assume that they used the medical certificates as a shield to escape before August, when the survey results will be compiled and the investigation will be in full swing.

Another prefectural assembly member continued.

The distrust of the Saito administration among the staff is growing by the day. This is because it is already interfering with their work. More than 3,500 questionnaires were collected in the first two days of the survey. This is an astounding pace. The executives must have sensed such an atmosphere at the main office and realized that there is indeed a limit to how much they can protect the governor. They are leaving the policies they have been pursuing in the past behind, and their irresponsibility is also being criticized.

The suffering of prefectural residents and employees is likely to continue. ……

In the second part of the article , “[Hyogo Prefecture, Shamefully] ‘Serious Strain’ and ‘Unusual Stress’ Produced by Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito’s Transformation,” we will report in detail on the specific stagnation of the Hyogo prefectural government.