The Kobe Shimbun, a local newspaper, examines the “influence” that the words and actions of “influencer” Atsuhiko Nakata had on the Hyogo Prefectural Governor’s race.

<The protagonist behind the scenes, you might say.

Confusion has not subsided in Hyogo Prefecture, where reporters are still pursuing Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito (48) over the “accusation document issue.

Various issues erupted in the wake of the ’24 Hyogo gubernatorial election, with false rumors spreading on social networking services, slander and libel swirling, and some people falling victim. One such victim was former Hyogo Prefectural Assembly member Hideaki Takeuchi, who was a member of the Hyakujo Committee. A year has passed since Takeuchi passed away, and the Kobe Shimbun, a local newspaper, began a series of articles titled “Hyogo Prefectural Governor’s Election: In the Midst of the Frenzy” to reexamine the death of Takeuchi and the recent prefectural election.

The 11th installment of the series, titled “The Weight of ‘Like’: What Influencers Are Saying,” focuses on the YouTube channel of Atsuhiko Nakata, 43, of the comedy duo Oriental Radio.

On November 15 and 16, just before the November 17, 2012 gubernatorial election, Nakata released a video titled “The Ultimate Mystery of the Hyogo Prefecture Gubernatorial Election. In it,

There is another person who is running for the office who is the main character behind the scenes. That person is Takashi Tachibana.

Tachibana was one of the seven candidates for the seat. The Kobe Shimbun points out several problems with Nakata’s statement in the video, one of which is,

One of the problems with Nakata’s statement is that “this man is doing a tremendous job.

If you look at it dispassionately, Mr. Tachibana is a person who knows the election system very well and wants to deliver his thoughts to the people in a way that goes against the system, you know.

In other words, he is a person who knows the election system very well and wants to deliver his ideas to the people.

In the Hyogo Prefecture gubernatorial election, the reports on TV about Mr. Saito’s power harassment and moral harassment are actually lies, and the truth is the opposite. I ran for office because I want everyone to know that Mr. Saito has been extremely wronged.

Mr. Saito has never engaged in power harassment, and the media and the prefectural assembly are trying to undermine him.

Nakata introduces Tachibana’s claims in the video.

Nakada also touched on the issue of the whistle-blowing documents,

Mr. Tachibana is trying to make the case that the whistle-blowing mechanism is being used in a bad way, and that they are just trying to get rid of a political obstacle.

Most of these explanations were later denied by the third-party committee. Nakata says at the end of the video

In this video, I honestly don’t say that this side is absolutely right or that I want you to support this side. This is not that kind of channel.

Nakada’s fans who viewed the video were left wondering what kind of impression they had of Tachibana. Tachibana gave the following assessment.

We must be accountable.

Defendant Tachibana stated in an online program after the election.

[The last video I saw of Mr. Atsuhiko Nakata on YouTube already sealed it for me.

The man himself believed that Nakata’s video had a significant impact on the Hyogo Prefecture gubernatorial election.

Nakata has now made the video, which had been available to the public, available only to a limited number of people. We sent the following questions to Nakata in writing, including the reasons for this decision.

(1) Do you recognize that the video had any influence on the prefectural election?
(ii) Do you still have the same evaluation of defendant Tachibana at this point in time?
(iii) There are some statements in the video that appear to be factually incorrect.
(4) In response to an interview by the Kobe Shimbun, he said, “Due to subsequent changes in circumstances, we have reviewed the scope of the video’s release in order to prevent misunderstandings and conflicts from being fostered by the video’s being cut out and received. What exactly did you mean by this change in the situation?
(5) There have been calls for accountability. What are your thoughts on accountability?
(6) Do you intend to explain the situation through social networking services?

In response to the question, Nakata’s video management staff gave the following answer.

The video on our YouTube channel was produced for the purpose of explaining the issues surrounding the Hyogo gubernatorial election and the information environment, referring to information that was publicly available at the time (official announcements, news reports, and communications from the parties involved, etc.).

The video, including the parts that introduce the claims and opinions of third parties as “claims,” does not constitute our determination of the facts or evaluation of any particular individual or group, nor does it constitute a determination of any matter that may be the subject of investigation, trial, etc.

Even at this time, we refrain from making evaluations related to ongoing procedures or expressing our views on individual responsibility. It is also difficult for us to verify or quantify the impact of a specific video on voting behavior with respect to individual election results, and we refrain from expressing a view on causal relationships.

The current membership-only status of this video is due to a review of the scope of its release in light of its potential for promoting misunderstanding and conflict depending on how it is viewed and received. We will continue to consider how to disseminate the video, including clearly indicating the source, giving due consideration to the wording of the video, and how to correct and update the video.

Was there any problem with Nakata’s statement? Attorney Kosuke Nishiwaki, former head of Asahi Television Asahi’s legal department, pointed out that

In the video, Nakata says, “There is a shocking theory being proposed” about the deceased former prefectural government bureau chief, titled “Why did the bureau chief choose to die? Nakata also introduced Tachibana’s claim that the former Prefectural Citizens Bureau chief’s accusation was not “public-interest reporting.

Mr. Nakata may claim that he was only introducing Tachibana’s argument, but his statement, which was based on his high evaluation of Tachibana and centered on his argument, may be interpreted as an attempt to defame the former Prefectural Citizens Bureau Chief in tandem with Tachibana’s statement.

Attorney Nishiwaki continued, “If he has nothing to hide, there should be no need to limit the scope of disclosure.

Mr. Nakata’s defense that he narrowed the scope of disclosure because “depending on how the video is cut and how it is received, it could lead to the promotion of misunderstanding and confrontation” seems to be an admission by himself that “the video could lead to the promotion of misunderstanding and confrontation if it is widely disclosed.

After Nakata released the video, a third-party investigation committee of Hyogo Prefecture identified the accusations made by the former director of the Hyogo Prefectural Citizens Bureau as whistleblowing. Was there any ‘misinformation’ in Mr. Nakata’s video? The news organization known as “old media” is forced to apologize as a company if there is any misinformation.

Mr. Nakata’s YouTube is the same as TV and newspapers in that it conveys information to the public at large. Laws regarding defamation are applied with the same severity as other news organizations, and legal liability is no different. Mr. Nakata, who has been making harsh points against the old media, has no choice but to not be accountable for his YouTube.”

Can he create a “saga” as an influencer as well?