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On the 6th, the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly Special Investigation Committee (Hyakujo Committee) met to examine the issue of the document that exposed suspicions against Governor Saito Motohiko. During questioning, Saito admitted that he had directly instructed his executives to identify the author of the document. Former Vice Governor Katayama Yasutaka was also questioned for the first time, and testified that Saito had directly ordered him to "investigate thoroughly." In response to the content of the questioning, each faction of the prefectural assembly will discuss how to respond to the motion of no confidence against Saito. According to Katayama's testimony, on March 21, the day after Saito became aware of the document created by a man (60) who was the head of the Nishi-Harima Prefectural Affairs Bureau in the prefecture (who died in July), he gathered Katayama and his close aides to discuss how to respond. At that meeting, Saito reportedly ordered, "Please thoroughly investigate who issued it and for what purpose." During questioning, Saito testified that the document was "highly slanderous and defamatory, and was created by collecting rumors," and that he "still does not believe it constitutes whistleblowing." In response to criticism that this amounts to searching for whistleblowers, which is prohibited under the Whistleblower Protection Act, he argued that it was justified, saying, "There is no problem with interviewing the person who created the whistleblower report, including the intention of the content." In response to the testimony of an employee that the personnel department had advised that the whistleblower's punishment should wait for the investigation into the whistleblower report, he emphasized that he "doesn't remember that." He also denied the testimony that they had asked if they could punish the whistleblower without waiting for the results, saying, "I never said they should punish him." Attorney Toshiaki Yamaguchi, who is familiar with the whistleblower system and appeared as a witness, said that the prefecture's response in punishing the whistleblower was a "violation of the law" and mentioned the possibility that the punishment may be invalid. Meanwhile, Saito said that he "doesn't recognize (even now)" that it was illegal. The Liberal Democratic Party, the largest faction in the prefectural assembly, which is considering a motion of no confidence against Saito, will discuss how to respond after the 100-article committee meeting on the 6th. They have decided to call on all prefectural assembly members on the 12th and ask Saito to resign. A party leader said, "If this is not accepted, a motion of no confidence is possible."