Why was Saito Motohiko able to spread his support so far in the re-election after losing his position as governor? Voter in Hyogo Prefecture: I had been watching X on social media all this time, and my impression of him changed completely from what I had expected, so I thought it was a very "strange" gubernatorial election. The "spread of information on social media" is thought to have played a major role in Saito's re-election. We asked voters who voted for Saito about the "moment that moved them." Voter in Hyogo Prefecture who voted for Saito: I voted. I didn't watch his speeches, but they were circulating on Twitter (X). Things like high school students saying "Thanks to Saito, our school has become clean." A social media video of a high school girl who appeared at Saito's street speech, which many people have seen, and tearfully thanked him, saying "The facilities at our school have improved." Voter in Hyogo Prefecture who voted for Saito: (Q. What made you decide to vote?) The internet. The internet. It's a part of my life, and the internet. I'm not just taking it at face value. In addition, some people said they "searched YouTube" after seeing the large crowds gathering at Saito's street speech. Voters in Hyogo Prefecture who voted for Saito: When I typed in "Saito Motohiko" on YouTube, a ton of videos came up. (Q: How did your feelings change after watching the video?) My feelings completely changed. I had only heard bad things about him, like "power harassment" and "begging." Professor Hiroshi Shiratori of the Graduate School of Modern Political Analysis at Hosei University said of the recent gubernatorial election, "It has changed from an election that questioned Saito's qualifications (as governor) to an election that ultimately asks whether you believe the information that is circulating and what you want to believe. When that happens, it becomes advantageous for those who use SNS more to disseminate information. It's fair to say that Saito won the "theatrical election of the SNS era." Voters in Hyogo Prefecture (teenagers) who voted for Saito: (About the SNS videos) They summarize them from beginning to end, so it's easy to understand for those who don't know about them. While SNS has increased interest, there are also concerns. A voter in Hyogo Prefecture who voted for Saito (in his 20s): (Q. Why did you vote?) I thought it was amazing that he achieved about 97% of his policies. In fact, Saito's achievement as governor was that he started and achieved 98.8% of his campaign promises. Regarding the "judgment of authenticity" of information spread on SNS, some people said, "It spread on SNS, right? I doubt whether it can be trusted." Renho, who ran in the Tokyo gubernatorial election, posted on her SNS on the morning of the 18th, which appears to have been with the Hyogo gubernatorial election in mind, pointing out, "It seems as if the truth spread on the Internet and spread as if it had become a fact. I think this election was one in which the reason why there was a re-election was hidden." The turnout rate for the Hyogo gubernatorial election was 55.65%, far higher than the previous election. The election campaign, which attracted attention from a wide range of generations, is about to change due to SNS. FNN Prime Online https://www.fnn.jp/