Photo/Illutration The Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

KOBE—Prosecutors decided not to indict politician Takashi Tachibana on charges of defaming, intimidating and forcibly obstructing the business of a Hyogo prefectural assembly member in connection with the Hyogo gubernatorial election last year.

The Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office cited insufficient evidence for its Dec. 24 decision.

In a criminal complaint filed with prefectural police, Kenichi Okutani, the prefectural assembly member, said Tachibana, 58, who heads the “party to protect the people from NHK,” damaged his reputation through social media posts.

Okutani, 40, chaired the prefectural assembly’s special investigative committee tasked with examining a whistleblower’s accusations of workplace bullying and misconduct against Governor Motohiko Saito.

Police referred the case to prosecutors in June.

In the gubernatorial election last November, Saito, who had been removed from office via a no-confidence vote by the prefectural assembly over the scandal, was re-elected.

Tachibana, who also ran in the election, campaigned for Saito rather than seeking his own victory.

In his complaint, Okutani specifically said Tachibana posted false claims on X and other platforms that alleged he covered up the cause of death of a senior prefectural official who had blown the whistle on Saito and others.

The posts were uploaded between Oct. 31, when official campaigning for the election started, and Nov. 1.

Okutani also said Tachibana intimidated him and interfered with his duties by delivering a street speech in front of his home and office in Kobe on Nov. 3 last year.

“I will stop here because it would be a problem if I threaten you too much and drive you to suicide,” Tachibana said in the speech.

Following the prosecutors’ decision, Okutani said on Dec. 24 that he intends to file a civil lawsuit against Tachibana in the coming days, seeking damages for defamation.

He also said he is considering asking the Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution to review the prosecutors’ decision not to indict Tachibana on the two remaining charges of intimidation and forcible obstruction of business.

Separately, Tachibana has been indicted on charges of defamation against former Hyogo prefectural assembly member Hideaki Takeuchi, who died by suicide.

He is accused of damaging the reputation of Takeuchi, who served on the assembly’s special investigative committee, by spreading falsehoods about him on social media.

(This article was written by Kai Nemoto and Eri Niiya.)

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