Photo/Illutration Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito responds to reporters in Kobe’s Chuo Ward on Dec. 2. (Itsuki Soeda)

KOBE--A criminal complaint was filed against Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito, accusing him of illegally paying a public relations firm for its work on his campaign in last month’s gubernatorial election.

Nobuo Gohara, a prosecutor-turned lawyer, and Hiroshi Kamiwaki, a legal professor at Kobe Gakuin University, filed the complaint on Dec. 1 with the Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office and the Hyogo prefectural police.

Authorities are still deciding whether to act on the complaint.

According to the complaint, the Saito campaign paid the PR firm 715,000 yen ($4,700) last month in violation of the Public Offices Election Law.

The complaint also targets the company’s president for accepting the payment, which it describes as a form of vote-buying.

According to Gohara, the PR company’s role involved planning and managing Saito’s campaign on social media.

He argues that this constitutes an official campaign activity under the law, which strictly regulates both offering and accepting financial compensation for election-related services.

Saito has denied the allegations, asserting that the payment was for legitimate services under the law, including production of campaign posters and other materials.

The re-elected governor again denied the firm played a key role in managing his social media accounts. He explained that the company president helped him manage the accounts as a volunteer.

The allegations surfaced shortly after the Nov. 17 election, when the president stated in an online post that her company had been responsible for overall public relations for the Saito campaign.

The president has not responded to The Asahi Shimbun’s request for an interview.

The election was called because Saito was forced to vacate the post after a no-confidence motion against him was unanimously passed in the prefectural assembly. He had been accused of bullying and corruption.

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