[Hyogo Prefecture Governor] Indictment “Investigate thoroughly” Governor issues instructions to investigate emails of official former Vice Governor Katayama testifies at 100-Article Committee．
0001@Old Man Friends Club ★.Sep. 6, 2024 (Fri) 12:42:52.69ID:Ih/NynDH9
On the 6th, the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly Special Investigation Committee (Hyakujo Committee) questioned former Vice Governor Yasutaka Katayama (who resigned at the end of July) as a witness for the first time in connection with the series of issues surrounding the death of a man (60), a former Nishi-Harima Prefectural Affairs Bureau chief who had made a written accusation against Governor Saito Motohiko and others. Katayama testified, “The governor showed me the document on March 21 and instructed me to ’investigate it thoroughly.’” The 100-Article Committee will continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the prefecture’s decision not to treat the man’s accusation as a whistleblower and to impose disciplinary action against him on the 5th, and will question Governor Saito in the afternoon. Katayama said he first learned of the document’s existence when the governor showed it to him on March 21. He also explained the situation when he discussed how to respond in the governor’s office with four of his close aides, including the then director of the general affairs department. He revealed that there was a discussion that “we need to find out who created it and for what purpose,” and that “finding the creator” was on the mind from the beginning, and added, “We decided to investigate official emails of staff members because the contents of the documents are wide-ranging and we thought they had been in contact with multiple people.” Katayama then was in charge of the questioning of the man on March 25th, which Governor Saito cited as the basis for his decision that the report was “not true and did not constitute a public interest whistleblower.” The committee member revealed that at that time, the man was pressured by the name of the colleague with whom he had been exchanging emails, and was threatened with personnel action, saying, “You have no choice but to prepare yourself.” In response, Katayama said, “The email contained words like ’coup d’état,’ ’revolution,’ and ’getting away.’ They thought it would be an unfair act, with public officials trying to remove an elected governor. I regret making such harsh remarks.” In addition, he testified that then-General Affairs Department Director Koichi Kobashi (currently recuperating), had advised the governor to conduct a third-party investigation between March 27th and 30th. “At the press conference on the 27th (March), the governor made some very detailed remarks (such as calling it a ton of lies), so I proposed this as a way to resolve the situation,” he said, adding, “I was informed that the governor denied it, saying, ’It will take time,’” he said. Continue reading in Kobe Shimbun, September 6, 2024, 12:25.
>>2 It depends on the details, but it’s difficult at the moment. On the contrary, the vice governor is likely to be implicated in the suicide. If I had to say, I think it would be possible to fight Saito in civil court.
>>3 That’s the General Affairs Department chief. He apparently advised Governor Saito that “power harassment is a matter of personal opinion!” He’s a hopeless guy who fled at the last minute.
It’s a dictatorship on the level of Pol Pot or Stalin, and it doesn’t feel like Japan. I wonder if people will mock it as the Hyogo Republic from now on.
If the allegations are true, I think the governor should be thoroughly investigated, forced to resign and put on trial, but I also think the 100-Article Committee’s high-handed attitude is not good.
When asked, “As of late March, were you aware that you had to protect whistleblowers who made public interest reports?” he replied, “No. That’s amazing. I guess they can still take that attitude because they believe whistleblowers don’t have to be protected in public interest whistleblowers.
The governor is facing things head on without running away The vice governor was the first to run away The governor is starting to seem more sensible The governor is so abnormal it’s messing up my senses lol Also, when is the general affairs director who’s holed up and on the run going to show up?
>>24 An evil magistrate facing off against His Lordship or His Lordship An unscrupulous merchant who begs the teacher for help but then runs away The head of a group of hired villains …or something like that?
>>The man was threatened with personnel action, mentioning the name of the colleague with whom he had been exchanging emails and saying, “You have to be prepared,” This was definitely what triggered his suicide. They threatened to harm not the man himself, but the colleague who provided the information, and the man couldn’t bear it and committed suicide. I see, so this vice governor was the first to resign in tears.
>>29 No, I also saw a post saying that the last call was from a prefectural assemblyman from the Ishin Party, who graduated from Waseda’s School of Political Science and Economics.
He knows he’ll suddenly lose his memory when it comes to the victory parade kickback issue. What a bastard move to make Saito the only bad guy and run away first.
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