*7/13 (Sat) 11:32 distribution aera dot. The former director of the Nishi-Harima Prefectural Government Bureau (60), who accused Governor Saito Motohiko of power harassment in March this year, died on the night of July 7th. It is believed to be a suicide. After the former director made the allegations, Governor Saito criticized him for lying and he was disciplined by the prefectural personnel department. The prefectural assembly established a special investigative committee (100-article committee) to investigate the allegations, but some members of the Ishin Party were critical of the former director. The former director had handed over the allegations to media organizations and prefectural assembly members. In addition to Governor Saito’s power harassment, the allegations were wide-ranging, including violations of the Public Offices Election Act in the gubernatorial election, receiving gifts from prefectural companies, and misconduct in the victory parade for Hanshin and Orix. In response, Governor Saito criticized the former director, saying, “Creating and releasing a document that is 100% false makes you unfit to be a public servant,” and “We are proceeding with legal procedures, including filing a complaint and filing a complaint.” The prefecture suspended the former director for three months. The reasons for the suspension included the personal use of a public computer. However, as aera dot. has previously reported, many testimonies have come forward that support Governor Saito’s power harassment. There are also testimonies that acknowledge the veracity of other suspicions. The prefectural assembly decided to establish a 100-article committee on June 13 to investigate the veracity of the allegations. At the second meeting on June 27, it was decided to ask the former director to appear as a witness at the committee meeting on July 19. When I interviewed the former director directly at the end of June, he spoke positively, saying, “I believe that speaking at the 100-article committee will be beneficial for the future of Hyogo Prefecture.” What happened after that? ■ Former Director submits “petition” to the 100-Article Committee The former director submitted a “petition” to the 100-Article Committee through his lawyer in early July. Continued below↓
>>1 During the election campaign, Ichiro Matsui, Hirofumi Yoshimura, former Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, and former Minister Marukawa came to support the Japan Restoration Party.
The basic principle of dealing with harassment is that you should not retaliate against someone who speaks up, and you should not do anything that could be suspected of retaliation.
When I asked the Ishin Party prefectural assembly member who had strongly demanded the disclosure of the former director’s data at the 100-Article Committee, he replied, “I am shocked that the former director has passed away, and I pray for his soul to rest in peace. Statements made by the board of directors are not made public, so I will refrain from disclosing the details.” Hmm.
The vice-chairman of this 100-article committee is from the Ishin Party. It’s strange that the Ishin Party, which opposed the establishment of the 100-article committee, is the vice-chairman in the first place.
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