<figure id="attachment_427194" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-427194" style="width: 1305px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a8bff080"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/06/4e413c71524a4ef911693129e69d0be1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-427194" class="wp-caption-text">Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito still insists that he did not give the order, despite claims by the deputy governor and three others that he did.</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Governor Motohiko Saito likely gave the order</h2>
 The third-party committee established by the prefectural government to investigate the whistle-blowing of Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito (47) has announced that privacy and other information stored on the official computer of the whistle-blower, the former director of the Hyogo Prefectural People&#8217;s Bureau (who died last July), was leaked by former General Affairs Department Director Tomoaki Inomoto to three prefectural assembly members.
 The third-party committee found that the leakage of the information
 The third-party committee concluded that the leakage of information was most likely at the direction of Governor Motohiko Saito.
 The third-party committee concluded that the leakage of the information was &#8220;most likely directed by Governor Motohiko Saito.
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 Mr. Inomoto, along with another former general manager, Mr. A,
 Mr. Inomoto, together with another former general manager, Mr. A, reported to Governor Saito that they had found a large amount of documents on the official computer of the former director of the Prefectural Citizens Bureau.
 and reported to Governor Saito that they had found a large volume of documents on the official computer of the former director of the Prefectural Citizens Bureau. The governor then responded
 The governor then told Inomoto that he should share the information about the existence of such documents with the council members.
 The governor then told Saito that he should share the information about the existence of such documents with the council members.
 Yasutaka Katayama, then Deputy Governor, who was present at the time, also testified that Governor Saito had instructed him to do so. In other words, Mr. Inomoto, Mr. A, and Deputy Governor Katayama all say they were instructed to do so, but only one of them says
 &#8220;I was not instructed to do so.
 Governor Saito has repeatedly answered, &#8220;I did not give any instructions.
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 Meanwhile, on June 2, the Hyogo Prefectural Police accepted a complaint filed by the prefecture for violation of the Local Public Service Law (duty of confidentiality) for leaking private information stored on the official computer of the former Prefectural Citizens Bureau Chief, without naming any suspects.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Future moves by the Hyogo Prefectural Police..."></div>
<h2>Former Prefectural Councilor Takeuchi: &#8220;The source of the information is not recognized.&#8221;</h2>
 If he continues to ignore the findings of the third-party committee established by the prefectural government, there will be no point in establishing the committee at all. Since the committee has no legally binding authority and he was reelected as governor, he is probably prepared to &#8220;not resign&#8221; without admitting it. In addition to the &#8220;leak order&#8221; allegation, he is also being investigated on suspicion of violating the Public Offices Election Law in another case. I don&#8217;t think you can find a governor who is so riddled with suspicions anywhere in the world.
 On the other hand, Hideaki Takeuchi, a former prefectural assembly member who passed away in January of this year after being slandered on SNS and YouTube as a &#8220;mastermind&#8221; behind the disgraced governor Saito, was interviewed by his wife on the May 31 &#8220;Special Report&#8221; program (TBS).
 She said, &#8220;It&#8217;s really horrible that they are pushing and torturing my husband, who has no power after quitting his post as a councilor, as if he did something wrong or was the mastermind behind the whole thing.
 She expressed her sorrowful feelings.
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 The third-party committee found that Takeuchi, a former prefectural assembly member
 The third-party committee concluded that Takeuchi, a former prefectural assembly member, was not the source of the information.
 The third-party committee concluded that Takeuchi was not the source of the information, and pointed out that there was a strong possibility that Governor Saito and others had instructed Inomoto to do so.
 If the accused leaked privacy information to several people in order to discredit the accuser, and furthermore, framed an unrelated person for the crime, it would be a violation of &#8220;human morality&#8221; before being a governor, etc.
 At his regular press conference on June 4, Governor Saito announced his intention to propose a salary cut ordinance amendment to the prefectural assembly on June 6, and that he would cut his own salary by 50%. On the other hand, however, regarding the possibility that he instructed the former general manager,
 &#8220;I never instructed him to do so,&#8221; he reiterated.
 He repeatedly denied the possibility that he had instructed the former general manager to do so.
 How will the investigative authorities act on the allegations of leakage in the future? &#8230;&#8230;
 According to Kenta Morizane, an attorney at Morizane Law Office, &#8220;First of all, we need to find out what happened to the people involved, including the three,
 According to Kenta Morizane of Morizane Law Office, &#8220;First of all, there will be an inquiry (interview) into whether the governor gave instructions to the three and other related parties. In addition, if there was an instruction, it is possible that it was given via e-mail or SNS, so confirmation of such an instruction may be considered as part of the investigation. The key points in deciding whether the case will proceed to prosecution are &#8220;how credible is the testimony of the people involved&#8221; and &#8220;how much physical evidence is there to support the testimony.
 If there is no testimony or other evidence that can be used to convict, it is unlikely that the prosecution will be forced to prosecute. If this is the case, prosecution is possible. The fact that the three testified that the governor instructed them to do so may suggest that the accomplices had a motive to involve others in the case in order to reduce their own guilt. The investigative authorities are often very careful to determine whether the statement is really credible.
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 The investigative authorities are often very careful in determining whether a statement is really credible,&#8221; he said.
 Will Governor Saito continue to reign as the head of Hyogo Prefecture?

 Kei Kato

 At the direction of Governor Motohiko Saito, the third-party committee found that former General Affairs Director Tomoaki Inomoto leaked information about the former Prefectural Citizens Bureau Chief to three prefectural assembly members. However, even now, Governor Saito insists that he did not give the order. Behind the scenes, the Hyogo Prefectural Police is ......

Governor Motohiko Saito&#8217;s single point of view on the whistle-blowing issue: &#8220;I did not give instructions&#8221;&#8230;The &#8220;seriousness&#8221; of the Hyogo Prefectural Police in accepting the complaint.

Governor Motohiko Saito’s single point of view on the whistle-blowing issue: “I did not give instructions”…The “seriousness” of the Hyogo Prefectural Police in accepting the complaint.

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