Secret Information Leaked for Slanders

It was found that a controversial campaign in the gubernatorial election of Hyogo last November was supported by some Hyogo assembly members affiliated with Japan Innovation Party, or Nippon Ishin-no Kai. Those members with Ishin admitted that they had handed out document or video footage to an internet extremist, Takashi Tachibana. The leaked information was about the activities of another committee members who were critical on the scandal of incumbent governor. One of those members accused by Tachibana reportedly killed himself in January.

The governor of Hyogo, Motohiko Saito, was accused of his power harassment on his staff and Hyogo Prefectural Assembly established an investigation committee. Saito chose the way to resign and run again for the election to supplement his seat by himself. The election was held in November 2024, and Saito won. Tachibana ran for the same election with a strange campaign in which he did not seek his winning but firmly recommended the voters to support Saito.

 

During the campaign, Tachibana persistently criticized the investigation committee. A member of the assembly with Ishin, Minoru Kishiguchi, revealed that he was in a meeting in which a document of information about the committee was handed over to Tachibana. The information indicated that some members of that closed committee had been publishing information against Saito, and that Hideaki Takeuchi was the broker. Exposed to accusations in social networking services, Takeuchi resigned as assembly member after the election and died in January 2025.

 

Another committee member with Ishin, Makoto Masuyama, admitted that he had sent Tachibana a voice file of the conversation in the committee. Supposedly based on the information given by those assembly members, Tachibana targeted some of the assembly members including Takeuchi. Immediately after the death of Takeuchi, Tachibana floated a fake story that Takeuchi would have been to be arrested. Tachibana deleted his post, when the police firmly denied the story.

 

It is legally prohibited to leak information about the closed committee. Two assembly members announced their resignation as the committee members. The leader of Ishin, Governor of Osaka Hirofumi Yoshimura, accused those assembly members of their disclosure of information about a secret meeting..

 

The response of the winner of gubernatorial election is not easy to understand. Saito commented about the hidden exchange of information that slander is not good, without his idea on leaking info about closed committee. “Slander is no good,” was also his comment on the death of Takeuchi.

 

Saito is suspected of having illegally paid for advertising in the election campaign. The lawmakers in the Diet are discussing regulatory measures against election campaign without any intention of winning as same as Tachibana did. Hyogo gubernatorial election left a various talking points about the election system in democracy.

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