Photo/Illutration Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito takes notes during a power harassment prevention training session on May 12. (Teruko Tanibe)

KOBE—Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito and about 120 high-ranking prefectural officials took part in a training session May 12 to prevent power harassment following a scandal that rocked the prefectural government. 

The Hyogo prefectural government’s whistleblower office recommended such a training session in a report released in December that looked into the allegations brought to that office’s attention.

A document sent anonymously to the media in March 2024 accused Saito and other officials of harassment and corruption. 

The four-hour session on May 12 covered three broad areas: organizational management; the whistleblower protection system; and the personal information protection system.

The whistleblower office said it could not find concrete evidence of power harassment by Saito, but pointed out in its report that there were prefectural officials who felt that they had been berated by the Hyogo governor. 

However, a third-party investigative committee that looked into attempts by Saito to identify the whistleblower concluded in its March report that officials were victims of power harassment by the governor and that the prefectural government’s power harassment prevention system was insufficient. 

(This article was written by Teruko Tanibe and Kumiko Nakatsuka.)

Related News