Photo/Illutration A ballot is cast in the Hyogo gubernatorial election on Nov. 17 in Kobe. (Teruo Kashiyama)

Voters in the Hyogo gubernatorial election were more focused on Motohiko Saito’s track record as governor than on the scandal that pushed him out of office, an Asahi Shimbun exit poll showed.

Asked what was the most important issue for them when voting, the most common response, cited by 39 percent of respondents, was “policies and campaign promises,” followed by “personality and image” at 27 percent, and “career background and achievements” at 19 percent.

Only 10 percent of respondents said “response to the document” distributed by a whistleblower that accused Saito and his aides of corruption and harassment.

Three percent cited “political parties, legislators, and organizations that support the candidate.”

Saito in the Nov. 17 election regained the post that he had been forced to vacate.

Seventy-six percent of voters approved Saito’s three-year management of the prefecture during his first term, and 62 percent of them supported Saito.

Only 22 percent of respondents said they disapproved Saito’s management of the prefecture.

The exit poll was conducted on Nov. 17 at 60 locations in the prefecture. It received valid responses from 2,723 people.

Among all age groups, “approve” respondents outnumbered “disapprove” respondents.

By party affiliation, 76 percent of Liberal Democratic Party supporters and 85 percent of Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) supporters approved Saito’s job as governor.

Even among supporters of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, 58 percent said they approved Saito’s job in his first term, exceeding the 40 percent who disapproved his work.

Seventy-six percent of unaffiliated voters said they approved his performance.

The gubernatorial election was called after Saito was forced out by a no-confidence motion that was unanimously passed in the prefectural assembly over the scandal.

A senior prefectural official had distributed a document accusing Saito and his aides of accepting gifts from businesses and harassing subordinates.

The prefectural government under Saito suspended the official from work. He was later found dead in an apparent suicide.

The exit poll asked respondents how they evaluated the overall handling of the document, including the responses by Saito.

Forty percent said they either “highly approved” it or “approved it to some extent.” Fifty-seven percent said they “do not approve it so much” or “do not approve it at all.”

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