Fusaho Izumi under fire for “shooting” former Governor Saito, Takashi Tachibana not on live TV… “TV stations are struggling” in the Hyogo Prefectural Governor’s race.

The current situation in Hyogo Prefecture is shameful.

Former Governor Motohiko Saito of Kobe Prefecture, who resigned due to allegations of power harassment and “begging,” is running for governor of Hyogo Prefecture in the election to be announced on October 31 and held on November 17. When Fusaho Izumi, former mayor of Akashi City, criticized Saito’s candidacy, the Internet was flooded with responses.

On October 30, the day before the election, Izumi updated his own X page.

Living in Hyogo Prefecture as one of its residents, I rarely hear people say, ‘Go for it, Governor Saito! I sincerely hope that Hyogo Prefecture will not go in the wrong direction due to some public opinion created on social networking sites. ……

He then quoted from the post, saying that Governor Saito’s popularity had been created by social networking sites.

Then, quoting from the post, Akashi City Council member Hiromichi Ishii uploaded a video of the crowd and queue around Saito.

Mr. Izumi… This is your nearest Akashi station. You have turned yourself into someone who protects TV interests and vested interests by lying.

And more ordinary users are coming to X one after another.

Many people have come to support you.

“There’s a line of people waiting to have their picture taken.

Izumi’s claim was refuted by a number of users, including “There are a lot of people coming to support the event.

Izumi was not invited to appear on some news programs during the October 27 election for the House of Representatives.

Former Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura ran in the Hyogo 9th Constituency, but Rikken newcomer Keigo Hashimoto, a prefectural assemblyman, ran in the same constituency in the 2011 prefectural assembly election from a political organization led by Izumi. He is Izumi’s “number one disciple. In accordance with the Broadcasting Act, the program did not allow Mr. Izumi to appear on the program, as it did not feel that he would be able to maintain impartiality during the election. In the end, Mr. Nishimura won the election and Mr. Hashimoto was defeated, but he was restored proportionally.

Izumi was treated in this way

The reality is that the upper echelons of TV stations are exerting pressure on the front lines. I believe that both politics and the mass media are corrupt in this country, and the challenge is how to change that. ……

He was outraged.

While there are many who sympathize with Mr. Izumi’s decision to no longer appear on the show, there are also those who criticize him.

Rejecting Mr. Izumi’s phone number

However, until the end of the Hyogo Prefecture gubernatorial election,

“I think the number of programs featuring Mr. Izumi will decrease.

“When Ms. Izumi does appear on a program, it will be a very difficult task,” said an official of a wide-ranging TV show in Osaka.

Izumi is always very critical of former Governor Saito when he appears on his programs. When he was mayor of Akashi City, Mr. Saito did not take him seriously and refused to receive his phone number. Perhaps because of this association, he has continued to point out the Hanshin-ORIX parade kickback issue, as well as the fact that he has not been able to realize his pledges to hire a female lieutenant governor and to reduce the number of children in school. It is very risky to have Mr. Izumi appear on live TV or other programs because he is treated completely differently during the election than he was when the power harassment and other problems began to come to light. If it is not handled properly, it could result in the firing of the person in charge of the program. I am puzzled if this is called pressure from the media. ……”

Furthermore, Takashi Tachibana, leader of NHK’s party, is also running for governor of Hyogo Prefecture. Local Kansai stations in particular seem to be nervous about the upcoming gubernatorial election.

As well as the case of Mr. Izumi, Mr. Tachibana has made revelations about a deceased prefectural government official. The information program “news Welcome Back” (ABC TV), which actually broadcast the debate among the candidates for the gubernatorial election, refused to allow Mr. Tachibana to appear live on the program and decided to make a VTR appearance. He was quite upset, but as expected, it would be a big problem if the privacy of a deceased person was blurted out on live TV. The election is attracting nationwide attention, but TV stations in the Kansai region are really having a hard time handling the candidates and selecting the commentators,” said a source involved in information programs.

In addition to Saito and Tachibana, a total of seven people are running for governor of Hyogo Prefecture, including former House of Councillors member Takayuki Shimizu, former Amagasaki Mayor Kazumi Inamura, Communist Party nominee Yoshikiyo Osawa, company president Shigeyuki Fukumoto, and company president Hirotsugu Kijima. This is the most intense election ever.

On November 17, a new governor will be elected. What will be the fate of Mr. Saito, who has caused a stir?