Governor Saito Faces New Allegations, Lawyer’s Press Conference Adds to Uncertainty

The Hyogo Prefecture gubernatorial election, which was supposed to have been concluded with the re-election of Saito Motohiko, still seems far from settled with ongoing commotion.

The issue arose when Kaede Orita, the representative of the PR company merchu based in the prefecture, revealed that she had been solely responsible for managing Saito’s campaign SNS strategy. Saito, who faced accusations of violating the Public Offices Election Law, had his lawyer, Tsukasa Okumi, hold a press conference on November 27. Okumi denied part of Orita’s posts, claiming that the facts had been exaggerated. However, during the press conference, there were several moments where he struggled to answer questions, which left the allegations unresolved

“The recognition is that the facts have been exaggerated.”

He denied the allegations. However, there were several moments during the press conference when he struggled to answer questions, and he was unable to fully dispel the doubts.

The issue began with Orida’s posts on his own social media. On Instagram, he wrote:

“(Saito) came to listen to my proposals as a public relations professional.”

Then, the day after the election, she posted:

“This time, even from the inside, there were so many dramas and stories. I’d love to see a documentary film made based on the facts.”

 She seemed quite pleased with herself.

She flaunted a Hermes Birkin bag worth several hundred thousand yen.

It seems that Mr. Orita has a strong desire for self-promotion, as he also posted a photo showing off a Hermes Birkin bag worth several hundred thousand yen.

On November 20th, he wrote on his note.

He wrote, “As the supervisor, I was responsible for developing the operational strategy, launching the accounts, creating profiles, planning content, designing writing formats, selecting information, establishing proofreading and revision workflows, strengthening fact-checking systems, and ensuring privacy, all while working with a trustworthy and skilled team.”

He revealed the inside details.

“An election is a comprehensive martial art of public relations.”

“I also want to highlight that it was a company in Hyogo Prefecture, not a major agency in Tokyo, that handled it.”

He proudly continued.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ guidelines for online elections state that if a contractor takes the lead in planning and drafting the content for a campaign website and is paid for it.

“It is highly likely to be considered bribery.”

It is clearly stated that it is highly likely to be considered bribery. In other words, through Orida’s self-promotion, allegations of a violation of the Public Offices Election Law have surfaced against Governor Saito.

Governor Saito himself had.