Regarding the issue of Hyogo Prefecture Governor Motohiko Saito being accused of power harassment and other allegations in a document, Governor Saito reiterated his view on the 7th that the man who wrote the document, a former director of the Nishi-Harima Prefectural Affairs Bureau (60), is not covered by whistleblowing protections. “During questioning, (the former director) testified that he compiled the document by collecting rumors,” he said at a regular press conference. “We are unable to determine that there is reason to believe that.” The Whistleblower Protection Act defines the requirement for a whistleblower to be protected as “when there is reasonable cause to believe.” In March, the former director wrote an accusatory letter outlining seven allegations involving the governor and others and sent it to some prefectural assembly members and media organizations. On April 4th, the matter was also reported to the public interest reporting hotline within the prefectural government office. Meanwhile, Governor Saito, who became aware of the document, criticized it in late March as “full of lies.” The former director was dismissed and was not allowed to retire. On May 7, the court ruled that the document “was not based on facts at its core and was slanderous,” and imposed a three-month suspension on the former director as disciplinary action. The prefecture’s response has been criticized as violating the law, which prohibits whistleblowers from being treated unfavorably for making a public interest report, and the prefectural assembly’s special investigative committee (100-article committee), which is looking into the facts of the document, has also called for an investigation. [Takahide Nakao] Mainichi Shimbun 2024/8/7 15:13 (last updated 8/7 15:29).
>>1 >Governor Saito denounced the document in late March as “a hundred lies” That’s your opinion, right? >The requirement for whistleblowers to be protected is defined as “when there is sufficient reason to believe” That’s something that can be interpreted however the powerful decide.
It was a terrible press conference, not just telling dead men nothing, but beating the dead. I suppose you could say it was like the Restoration Party.
They kept calling it a rumor at the press conference. I was really angry when I thought about the grief of the person who died. A reporter from Yomiuri named Kitagawa was doing his best though.
The accusation is about you. You’re starting to see that it’s not all lies and there are facts behind it. Whether or not it constitutes a public interest report is just your personal opinion. Are there any audio recordings or handwritten documents remaining in which the accuser actually admits to the rumors? The Vice Governor just passed it on to suit his convenience.
A memo prepared by the prefectural government obtained by Sun TV clearly states that the subsidy increase was decided by the vice governor, and this coincides with the contents of the indictment. Where is the rumor?
Is there any chance of winning this? Even if they can get away with it legally, it’s enough to wipe them out socially. I wonder what the conditions for victory for the governor are.
>>39 This is not the logic of a politician, but the logic of a bureaucrat. He never admits to any mistakes. He avoids consistency by creating sophistry. He’s still in his days at the Ministry of Home Affairs, and as a politician, he has no awareness of the bad moves he’s making.
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