Photo/Illutration Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito at a news conference in the prefectural government office on March 19 (Shinnosuke Ito)

KOBE—A third-party investigative panel on March 19 concluded that Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito committed power harassment on several occasions and violated the whistleblower protection law with other prefectural officials.

The panel, consisting of six lawyers, including three former judges, submitted its report to the prefectural government after looking into the authenticity of a document accusing Saito and senior government officials of harassment and corruption.

The document was sent anonymously to media outlets in March 2024. It was learned that the sender was the head of the prefectural government’s branch office in charge of the Nishi-Harima region.

The official was later found dead in an apparent suicide last year.

The panel’s report said the distribution of the document constituted “external whistleblowing under the whistleblower protection law.”

Therefore, the report said, it was “extremely unfair” and illegal for Governor Saito and others accused in the document to search for the identity of the document’s author.

In addition, the prefectural government’s disciplinary action against the branch office chief for producing and distributing the document was “clearly illegal,” the report said.

It said that under the whistleblower protection law, no prejudicial treatment should have been given to the whistleblower.

As for the veracity of the allegations against Saito and the other officials, the report found that the document could be inferred to be close to the truth.

At a news conference held on March 27, 2024, Saito referred to the document as “a pack of lies” and said the accuser “is a disqualified public official.”

The report of the panel said Saito’s remarks “caused mental distress to the (accuser), demoralized prefectural employees and deteriorated the working environment, therefore constituting an act of power harassment.”

The panel, in fact, said Saito committed power harassment in 10 of the 16 cases it received through employee surveys and other means.

In one of the 10 cases, Saito was on a business trip but a traffic closure forced him to exit his official vehicle and walk 20 meters. He severely reprimanded a staff member who greeted him.

On another occasion, he became furious because he had not been informed when a newspaper ran a story about a prefectural government project.

Regarding allegations that he received gifts, the report said, “There were no facts that could be evaluated as bribery.”

However, the report added, “Externally, there were several statements that could be taken as requests for gifts by the governor.”

The document also accused Saito of corruption concerning the collection of sponsorship money for a professional baseball victory parade held in autumn 2024.

The panel said although there were no kickbacks, “there were unavoidable circumstances that could raise suspicions.”

The allegations against Saito forced him to vacate the governor’s post in autumn last year. However, he won the subsequent gubernatorial race in November.

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