It has been about nine months since the allegations were distributed to the media. On the 25th, the Hyogo Prefectural Governor Saito Motohiko's 100-article committee was held to investigate the series of allegations against him. What did he say in the final witness hearing? Governor Saito has reached the climax of the investigation into the allegations. On the 25th, he appeared as a witness at the prefectural assembly's 100-article committee on "power harassment allegations" and other issues. Governor Saito Motohiko of Hyogo Prefecture: "I swear to tell the truth according to my conscience, to hide nothing, and to add nothing." (Q: (Regarding the investigation of the accuser) What instructions did the governor give?) "Specific names of individuals, such as the names of employees and companies, were given, and the document was highly defamatory of those people, so I recall giving instructions to investigate thoroughly. I told him to 'take appropriate action.'" It all started about nine months ago. It began when a document was distributed to the media, etc., accusing Governor Saito of seven allegations, including "power harassment" and "begging." The former prefectural official who prepared the document used the whistleblower system. Meanwhile, the prefecture decided to take disciplinary action against the man, stating that "core parts of the document are not true" as a result of an internal investigation. The former official subsequently died. It is believed to have been a suicide. Governor Saito had attended two witness hearings so far. Governor Saito: "I don't know what moral responsibility is." The prefectural assembly unanimously voted no confidence in Governor Saito, and he chose to step down from his position. He ran again in the Hyogo Prefectural gubernatorial election in November, and although it was initially expected that he would struggle, he was re-elected thanks to strong support on social media and the internet. Governor Saito had said, "I will move the prefectural government forward." Reporter Makino Amaki: "It's 8:30 a.m. Many people are lining up even before the distribution of spectator tickets." On the 25th, more than 100 citizens visited the Hyogo Prefectural Office from the morning to observe the much-anticipated witness hearing. A person waiting in line for a ticket said, "Instead of being what they call a 'broken recorder,' I want them to answer questions properly with 'yes' or 'no.' I want them to explain what they did properly in their own words." Were the governor and other officials' responses appropriate? What was said in the final witness questioning? On the 25th, Hyogo Prefecture's 100-Article Committee reached its climax. In the afternoon, former Vice Governor Katayama Yasutaka, who was Governor Saito's closest aide, appeared as a witness. He resigned as vice governor following the death of the former Prefectural Affairs Bureau director who had made the allegations. Former Vice Governor Katayama was once again asked about Governor Saito's "power harassment allegations." 100-Article Committee: "The allegation of 'power harassment' in the allegation document is not 'groundless' or 'a hundred lies,' but does it lead to the recognition that it contains a reasonable degree of truth?" Former Vice Governor of Hyogo Prefecture, Yasutaka Katayama: "I do not recognize it as power harassment." Former Vice Governor Katayama also plays a leading role in the prefecture's internal investigation, such as recovering the official computer of the deceased Prefectural Affairs Bureau Director. 100-Article Committee: "Who came up with the idea to 'investigate the email history of employees,' which is thought to have been involved in the creation of the document?" Former Vice Governor Katayama: "It may have been the personnel authorities, or I think someone said, 'Is there a possibility that they were exchanging emails?' I don't know who came up with the idea, but I can say that I was the one who made the final decision to do it." 100-Article Committee: "Was it appropriate to confiscate the official computer at the governor's instruction?" Former Vice Governor Katayama: "I do not recognize that I confiscated it. I recognize that I collected the prefecture's official property." And the final witness questioning of Governor Saito began at 3:00 p.m.を進めていく。 English: (Q: Was it your instruction to put (the accuser's) retirement on hold?) Hyogo Prefecture Governor Saito Motohiko: "It was the prefecture's understanding that the documents that were created and distributed in March, as a whole, were highly libelous and slanderous, so based on that, we decided to put the retirement on hold and, as personnel authorities, ultimately approved it." (Q: Testifies that you were unaware of the amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act.) Governor Saito: "I believe that our response to the document of March 20 was appropriate, and we consulted with the prefectural authorities and the prefecture's lawyers, so overall there were no problems." (Q: Did you say, 'We want to change the wind'?) Governor Saito: "As far as I understand and remember, I have no recollection of saying that I wanted to change the wind's direction?' As for disciplinary action, the prefectural personnel authorities investigated and found four cases that warranted disciplinary action, so we responded through the proper procedures. I never agreed to waiting for the results of the whistleblowing, nor did I say, 'Go do it' without waiting for the results of the whistleblowing. This is a disciplinary action by the prefecture, so it is basically impossible to act unilaterally. Even in several internal investigations by the Personnel Department, the documents did not specifically state that they had collected rumors or provided evidence of this, so our current view is that they do not meet the requirement of truthfulness, which is a requirement for protection of external whistle-blowing. Will the 100-Article Committee be able to get to the truth with the ongoing questioning of witnesses? ▼Special videos, in-depth commentary, and the latest news delivered daily Please subscribe to our channel! / @ytv_news ▼Submit information here: "Submission Box" https://www.ytv.co.jp/toukou_box/ ▼Yomiuri TV News Bureau's social media TikTok / ytvnews X (formerly Twitter) / news_ytv ▼Yomiuri TV News https://www.ytv.co.jp/press/ ▼Kansai Information Network ten. 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