Social media during the election period is said to have made a difference in the Hyogo Prefectural gubernatorial election. Former Governor Saito Motohiko was re-elected in the re-election. Initially, a tough battle was expected, but what on earth happened? (This is the content broadcast on November 18th) ■ About 50 days after losing his job... 17 days of election campaign for Governor again. It is said that the following changes have occurred. Former Hyogo Prefectural Governor Saito Motohiko: "I lost 3 kg. Politicians are posting pictures of themselves going out to eat on social media, but I don't think I have that kind of time. For the past 10 days, I've been eating only rice balls." Former Hyogo Prefectural Governor Saito Motohiko, who was accused of power harassment against prefectural employees, will return to the Hyogo Prefectural Office about 50 days after losing his job. In the special vote counting program broadcast on November 17, 2024, it was announced that Saito Motohiko was certain to win at the same time as the voting deadline at 8 pm. Saito's office staff: "Kobe Shimbun, Saito Motohiko has been declared the winner!" Seven candidates ran in the Hyogo Prefectural gubernatorial election. Former Governor Saito won reelection after receiving about 1.1 million votes, beating out former Amagasaki Mayor Inamura and others. Saito Motohiko: "This election campaign really started with just one person. To be honest, I never thought that the support of so many people would spread so far. Thank you very much." ■ "Searching for an accuser" in the allegations of power harassment Voters' "change" It all started in March 2024. A man who was the head of the Prefectural Affairs Bureau anonymously created and distributed a document accusing prefectural employees of power harassment. Saito Motohiko: "The contents are a string of things that never happened. The act of creating and distributing a document containing a hundred lies is disqualifying as a public servant." At that time, Saito strongly criticized him. The former head of the Prefectural Affairs Bureau was given a disciplinary punishment of a three-month suspension, but he died in July. However, investigations by the 100-Article Committee established by the prefectural assembly revealed that the allegations were true and that the governor himself had instructed the governor to "find the accuser." In addition, it was revealed that a former section chief (53) who was exhausted from work such as collecting donations at the Hanshin-Orix victory parade in November 2023 and was recuperating in April 2024 was found to have died. Saito Motohiko (100-Article Committee, September) "I instructed that it is important to thoroughly understand the case, such as who wrote this document and why they wrote it." Saito claimed that "the document is highly defamatory and does not constitute a public interest report," and "there is nothing illegal about searching for the accuser," but in September, the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly unanimously passed a motion of no confidence against Saito. He then lost his job and decided to run for governor again. On the last day, he left the prefectural office without being seen off by prefectural officials. Saito was initially ignored when he took to the streets, but by the end of the election, he had attracted large crowds. The turnout rate for this gubernatorial election was 55.65%, an increase of about 14 points from the previous election. How did voters react to Saito's reelection? Hyogo Prefecture resident (50s): "My first impression was that he was a real bully, and that he was no good. But as time passed, I started to think, 'Is that so?'" Hyogo Prefecture resident (60s): "At first, I also thought, 'What a terrible person,' but then information came out and I wondered if it was actually the truth." Hyogo Prefecture resident (40s): "It seemed like Saito had been framed. The deciding factor was when Tachibana showed up." ■ A major reversal on "SNS" - what did voters believe? Political party leader Tachibana Takashi was also running in this election, but he said he was not aiming to win himself and supported Saito in the election campaign. Political group leader Takashi Tachibana said, "This time, I am running in an election that is not aimed at winning. People are led to believe that Saito is a bad guy." Then, on social media, there was a lot of support for Saito, with comments like, "Go former governor!" Information on social media was also a major factor in the election campaign. Hyogo Prefecture resident (30s): "TikTok, short videos, and YouTube, Tachibana's videos were interesting. I think it's human nature to become more interested in something as you are exposed to it more and more." Hyogo Prefecture resident (50s): "I think people were watching it on TV with the assumption that it was true. But then, with media like YouTube, people started to wonder, 'Is that even possible?', and then people decided that it was really close to the truth, that it was a lie, and that's why it became such a big speech and the crowds formed." However, there are also rumours on the internet. Regarding Inamura, who lost this time... A post on SNS entitled "Kazumi Inamura is 'trying to give voting rights to foreigners'" was viewed more than 1.47 million times. Meanwhile, Inamura denies the allegations, saying, "I am not in a position to promote voting rights for foreigners." As social media becomes a big wave, the following movement was seen towards the end of the gubernatorial election... 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