KOBE--A university professor has filed a criminal complaint against Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito and two others over the leaking of private information about a whistleblower who later died in an apparent suicide.
The complaint was submitted to the Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office on June 10 by Kobe Gakuin University professor Hiroshi Kamiwaki.
It accuses Saito, former Vice Governor Yasutaka Katayama, and Chiaki Inomoto, former director of the prefecture’s general affairs division, of violating confidentiality obligation stipulations in the Local Public Officer Law.
The whistleblower, who headed the prefectural government’s branch office in charge of the Nishi-Harima region, had prepared a document that accused Saito and his top officials of power harassment and corruption. The document was sent anonymously to media organizations in March last year.
But the identity of the whistleblower was uncovered. And private information about him was leaked to prefectural assembly members.
He was found dead in July.
“I believe this is an organized crime carried out on the orders from the governor and the former vice governor,” Kamiwaki said. “I hope the criminal allegations will lead to the truth being revealed.”
Saito told reporters on June 11 that he takes the criminal complaint seriously.
“I will cooperate with the investigation,” he said.
But he again insisted he never gave instructions for the information leak.
“As the prefectural government, we have already concluded...
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