Governor Saito’s Arrogant Behavior and New Issues Exposed by Staff Survey
Governor Motohiko Saito (46) of Hyogo Prefecture is being driven into a critical situation.
FRIDAY Digital has extensively reported on various allegations involving Governor Saito and his close associates in related articles such as “Internal Whistleblowing Causes Chaos… Hyogo Prefecture Government in ‘Unprecedented Turmoil’ Due to Spread of Documents Alleging ‘Requests’ and ‘Power Harassment’ by the Governor” and “[Shocking Testimony from a Prefectural Assembly Member] ‘The Governor Was a Puppet’—Severe Criticism Targets the ‘Suspicious Mastermind’ Behind Hyogo’s Governor Saito.” It has provided detailed reports on various allegations involving Governor Saito and his close associates.
Starting today (August 23), the special investigative committee will conduct witness questioning of 10 individuals, including current and former employees, based on the allegations made in a document by a former senior staff member A (age 60) who chose to end their own life. As part of this process, details from survey responses of approximately 6,700 out of 9,700 prefectural employees are beginning to emerge.
One of the committee members revealed:
“Approximately 95% of the responses are negative towards the governor. Of the 4,568 responses collected by August 5, 333 were signed by employees. Of these, 231 employees indicated that they would cooperate with the committee’s testimony and investigation, including appearing before the committee. Despite the option to remain anonymous, this significant number of employees have agreed to cooperate. The testimonies provided are also very detailed.”
Regarding the governor’s alleged power harassment, it has been revealed that 38.3% (1,750 people) answered that they “know about it or have heard about it from others.” According to the committee member, 59 employees have actually witnessed or experienced the harassment firsthand. Additionally, regarding the suspicion of receiving gifts from private companies, 20.7% (946 people) reported having “heard or seen” such instances. This indicates an abnormal situation where about 40% of employees recognize the governor’s power harassment.
