Editorial

Major questions remain to be answered about the Hyogo prefectural government’s response to an official’s accusations of wrongdoing by the governor. The whistleblower was disciplined and the matter was not fully investigated. This is a problem that could shake the whistleblowing system.

Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito was accused of misconduct by a senior prefectural official. The official mailed a letter of accusation to the media and other organizations in March. He sent the same accusations to the prefectural government’s contact section in April in accordance with the whistleblowing system.

The accusations covered seven items, including the governor’s receipt of goods and workplace bullying. In response, the governor immediately denied the accusations, calling them “a pack of lies,” and removed the official from his senior position.

Also, the prefectural government claimed it had conducted its own investigation and determined that the contents of the accusation document were groundless. It suspended the official from work for three months. The official died this month, in what is believed to be a suicide.

The Whistleblower Protection Law prohibits any mistreatment of whistleblowers due to their whistleblowing. The prefectural government should have treated the official as a whistleblower and protected him. The prefecture’s handling of the matter is suspected to have violated the law and can only be called inappropriate.

After the official was hit by the punitive...

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