On the 17th, the Hyogo Prefectural gubernatorial election was held, and former governor Motohiko Saito (47), who ran again after receiving a unanimous vote of no confidence from the assembly, was re-elected. We interviewed him about the background to his victory, despite the prediction that he would face a tough battle. Former governor Motohiko Saito expressed his gratitude one day after his reelection. Former Hyogo Governor Saito Motohiko, who was re-elected: "I started from a very difficult situation, so I was elected yesterday with the support of many of the prefecture's residents. I'm happy that I was re-elected with everyone's help. I think that this election was one in which the residents, from young people to the elderly, looked at various things such as newspapers, television, YouTube, and X, and researched various things for themselves and made their own judgments." Voters... "I was surprised. I thought it would be different for me." "I'm glad. (After seeing YouTube, etc.) my emotions have changed 180 degrees." "I saw (the Internet), as expected. I feel good about voting." "It's hard to say. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of Hyogo Prefecture you will create if you are elected." Former Hyogo Governor Saito Motohiko: "Good morning." Saito was initially expected to struggle after receiving a unanimous vote of no confidence from the prefectural assembly. He started his election campaign alone at his local station, without support from any political party. The election campaign that began in this way gradually became strange. NHK Party leader Takashi Tachibana: "It's very unconventional, but this time I'm running in an election that is not aimed at winning." The unusual strategy of Tachibana, a member of the NHK Party with a strong voice, running for election and then supporting Saito, and the support on the Internet, including on social media, are a driving force. Towards the end of the election, there were even skirmishes between the audience members... "Don't get in the way! Go home!" "Go home! Go home! Go home!" And on the final day. People, people, people as far as the eye could see gathered for Saito's speech. "Saito! Saito! Saito! Saito!" Former Hyogo Prefecture Governor Motohiko Saito, who was re-elected: "This time, I really felt the various spreads and positive aspects of SNS through SNS. Thank you very much." A victory that was grabbed by a big reversal. Saito cited "the spread of support on SNS" as a major reason for his victory. At the beginning of the election campaign, former Amagasaki Mayor Kazumi Inamura was seen as the favorite. Unable to dodge Saito's fierce pursuit, about 40 minutes after the polls closed at 8 p.m., Inamura Kazumi, who lost the election, said, "I apologize for not meeting your expectations." Looking back on the unusually heated battle, she expressed a certain "sense of incongruity." Inamura Kazumi, who lost the election, said, "Rather than competing with Saito, it's true that I felt a sense of incongruity about what I was facing. To be honest, I think this election campaign left us with issues about what to believe and what information to base our voting decisions on..." With some support from LDP prefectural assembly members, 22 members of the Hyogo Prefecture Mayors Association also expressed their support. Aioi City Mayor Taniguchi Yoshinori: "Who is the person who will drive the 'bad guys' out of Hyogo Prefecture and bring in a new wind? It's Inamura!!" The battle was between a "traditional election campaign" with organized support and a strategy that made full use of social media. When Mr. Saito appeared on the roadside, the crowds all raised their smartphones... The Saito camp broadcasted the excitement and the speech live. The number of followers on social media, which was about 100,000 in early November immediately after the election, rapidly expanded, and on the day of the election, it had doubled to more than 200,000. Reporter Takahiro Kanda: "It's been about an hour since the Saito camp's speech ended. On X, videos of the speech are starting to appear one after another." Every day, hashtags such as "#Go For It Former Governor Saito" were flying around on X, "spreading" the circle of support. The audience at the street speeches grew day by day, with people cheering with fans, people asking for autographs on T-shirts, and women crying as they shook hands. When it was his birthday just before the election... "Congratulations!" The strategy that made SNS a breakthrough was supported by volunteer staff who posted videos and other materials. Saito camp volunteer staff: "We currently have 2,900 registered volunteers, including 500 volunteers on the ground. Digital volunteers can freely edit and distribute the videos and materials uploaded on LINE. This allows for over 100 videos to be distributed per day. I wonder if the reason high school and junior high school girls know Saito is because of TikTok..." Meanwhile, Inamura also used social media, but her number of followers is only 15,000. A little wind can become a storm, and it seems that the spread of the Internet has led to the real world in this election. As the issues surrounding the incriminating documents continue, the focus going forward will be on normalizing prefectural government. ▼Special videos, in-depth commentary, and the latest news are delivered every day 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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