Photo/Illutration The Hyogo prefectural assembly's special investigative committee on Oct. 11 (Itsuki Soeda)

KOBE—A Hyogo prefectural assembly member said he has asked the operator of YouTube to delete 15 videos accusing him of orchestrating the political turmoil that cost Motohiko Saito his job as governor in September.

Maki Maruo said on Dec. 9 that the videos are false and defamatory.

He has also requested disclosure of the poster’s identity and plans to take similar action regarding posts on X, formerly Twitter.

“I want to move forward with efforts to create a society where words are valued and trust is built,” Maruo said.

Maruo is a member of the prefectural assembly’s special investigative committee, called the Article 100 Committee. It is investigating whistleblower allegations that Saito, in his first term, had engaged in power harassment and improperly accepted gifts.

According to Maruo, the videos accuse him of being the “mastermind” behind the turmoil that led to Saito losing his position as governor following a no-confidence motion in the prefectural assembly.

Some videos also accused him of fabricating survey responses from prefectural employees, he said.

The videos spread during the subsequent governor’s race that Saito won on Nov. 17.

“False videos have been posted, and a wave of critical phone calls and emails have followed. It’s like online harassment,” Maruo said. “I thought that if I didn’t take proper action, it would keep going.”

He added that he is considering filing criminal charges for defamation and a civil lawsuit for damages concerning particularly malicious posts, such as those that are repeatedly shared.

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