VOX POPULI: Hyogo Governor Saito can't evade accountability with platitudes
One classic example of politico-talk is 'shinshi ni uketometai,' which translates as, 'I intend to take (this matter) with the utmost sincerity.'
This was repeated about 30 times by Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito during his news conference on March 26.
He continued uttering the phrase while rejecting the assessment of the prefecture's third-party committee that he had broken the law in his handling of a whistleblower.
Saito effectively declared that he had no intention of abiding by the decision of the very committee he himself had formed. And yet, he reiterated that he was taking the situation with the utmost sincerity.
The above passage is excerpted from the March 28 installment of the Vox Populi column, which examined Saito's dubious response to a whistleblowing case.
As someone expected to choose words with care and sincerity, I recognize that reusing a passage from a previous column may seem disingenuous. Yet, that is precisely what Saito himself is doing—regardless of the question posed to him, his responses consistently sound like they've been copied and pasted.
In his most recent news conference on May 28, his oft-repeated platitude about handling the matter 'with the utmost sincerity' appeared just eight times. Yet his stance remains unchanged.
This time, a third-party committee—different from the one cited in the March 28 column—investigated the leak of private information concerning a now-deceased whistleblower who had alleged corruption and harassment at the highest levels of the prefectural government.
Based on multiple testimonies, the panel concluded that sensitive personal information about the whistleblower—who had served as head of the prefectural office overseeing the Nishi-Harima region—was most likely leaked under the instruction of the governor and former deputy governor.
This is no minor issue.
Yet, Saito continues to reject the committee's findings, even as he reportedly expresses a wish to personally apologize to the bereaved family of the late bureau chief.
What, exactly, does he intend to apologize for—and how?
The prefectural assembly will likely question the future course of the administration. But Saito's conduct carries implications that extend well beyond the boundaries of a single local government.
What is truly troubling is the risk that his evasive style of response could set a precedent—becoming a 'model' for others to emulate.
Even in the face of criticism over his handling of the whistleblower case, Saito continues to insist that his response was 'appropriate.'
In 'The Passionate State of Mind,' U.S. philosopher Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) wrote: 'The justification of a past crime is the planting and cultivation of future crimes.'
—The Asahi Shimbun, May 30
* * *
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asahi Shimbun
2 days ago
- Asahi Shimbun
7 held in scam that ‘employed' 1,400 foreigners without visas
Tokyo police have arrested seven people in connection with an elaborate scam that allowed 1,400 foreigners without work visas to pose as food delivery drivers. The Metropolitan Police Department announced the arrests July 25 of Kotaro Yamazaki, 51, a company executive and six others, including a 28-year-old Vietnamese man. The suspects are believed to have netted about 54 million yen ($366,000) from the scam that targeted the Demae-can food delivery service company from as far back as 2022. The operation centered on the illegal transfer of delivery accounts. Foreigners from six nations, including Uzbekistan and Vietnam, were hoodwinked by Yamazaki and the others, according to the police. The seven suspects conspired between Sept. 23 and Oct. 1 last year to have a 30-year-old Japanese man apply for and receive a Demae-can account knowing full well it would be used by a Vietnamese. Yamazaki and his conspirators also used social media to publicize moonlighting opportunities and asked Japanese applicants to 'lend' their Demae-can accounts. The Japanese individual received 20,000 yen as a 'matching fee' if a foreigner was found to use the account and make deliveries. Yamazaki's group also cooperated with a broker who gathered foreigners. The broker received 5,000 yen every month from the delivery fees paid by Demae-can to the Japanese owner of the account. The Japanese owner also received 20,000 yen a month for lending the account. Any money left over in the account for that month was paid to the foreigner who actually made the deliveries. An official with Demae-can told The Asahi Shimbun the company was considering legal action against the group.
Asahi Shimbun
2 days ago
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: ‘Most difficult homework' in the words of author Kunio Yanagita
A black-and-white photo shows a group of 10 or so schoolchildren staring at an announcement in vertical script on a bulletin board in 1928. That year, men aged 25 and older were given the right to vote, and the notice proclaimed the first general election under the new law. The children may have gathered at the bulletin board out of curiosity. The photo was captioned rather cynically: 'The most difficult homework.' The photo graces the pages of 'Meiji-Taisho-shi: Seso Hen' (History of the Meiji and Taisho eras: Chapter on social climate), a book written by Kunio Yanagita (1875-1962) that stands as a masterful portrayal of social trends during the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) eras. Focusing on a broad array of subjects, ranging from housing to diet, clothing, work and romantic relations, Yanagita analyzed how the lifestyle of 'ordinary' Japanese citizens had changed through the years. In conclusion, he wrote: 'In other words, we were sick and poor as citizens.' I was intrigued by the strangeness of that statement. 'Yanagita is lamenting,' said Masami Ishii, an emeritus professor at Tokyo Gakugei University and the author of a detailed annotation to Yanagita's autobiography. That means, Ishii explained, that Yanagita was aware of society's inability, despite the acute need, to educate its citizens to become voters capable of exercising good judgment, irrespective of their socio-economic standing. Yanagita graduated from Tokyo Imperial University, now the University of Tokyo, and worked at the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. He later joined The Asahi Shimbun where he served on the Editorial Board until 1930. When his book was published in 1931, Yanagita was 'beginning to focus on folklore, having seen the limits of journalism,' according to Ishii. True, Yanagita wrote in his book that 'the reality of social affairs' is more complex than anything newspapers could report. Probably sensing his own limitations, he decided to trace the history of the common people rather than that of the powers that be. Travelling around the nation, he listened to the voices of the people and collected old tradition and lore. July 31 marks the 150th anniversary of his birth. With self-admonition, I am now asking myself: Am I fully attuned to people's small voices? Am I tackling, and not shirking, 'the difficult homework'? --The Asahi Shimbun, July 26 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Asahi Shimbun
7 days ago
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: Xenophobia gains ground in Upper House election
Some in the audience at a Tokyo rally of a party advocating tougher regulations against foreigners express opposition to racism on July 19. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Front-page headlines in Japanese newspapers come in various forms. The more important or surprising the news, the more the headline shifts from the traditional vertical format (top to bottom, commonly used in most articles) to a bold horizontal layout (left to right). Major news stories also tend to use what is known as the 'beta-kuro shiro-nuki' format--white lettering set against a solid black background--stretching dramatically across the width of the page. In the latest Upper House election--where the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, Komeito, suffered a stinging setback--the largest headline now looms high above this daily column, which appears regularly at the bottom of The Asahi Shimbun's front page. When Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba appeared on television on election day, July 20, his expression was more tense and rigid than ever. This seismic shift in Japan's political landscape may well go down as a moment of lasting historical significance. At the same time, I can't shake the feeling that another, more troubling shift has taken place, one quite different from the 'political upheaval' captured by the headline. It is the rise of xenophobia. I have never witnessed an election in which fear of foreigners was so openly inflamed, nor one where discriminatory rhetoric was voiced with such blatant ease. Democracy is governance through speech. For elections--the very foundation of democracy--to function properly, it is essential that policy debates be grounded in facts. Yet, despite repeated media fact-checks exposing falsehoods in the xenophobic statements made by a certain party's candidates and its leader, that very party has garnered a significant number of votes. What, then, lies ahead? If the party continues to take the same stance on issues concerning foreign nationals during Diet deliberations, I fear that its rhetoric--used to legitimize prejudice--will gain broader acceptance in society, bolstered by its growing political influence. In 'How Democracies Die,' Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt warn that the erosion of democracy often begins with language. 'The process often begins with words,' they write. Am I reading too much into this? I can only hope that someday people will look back and say with a laugh, 'You were worrying for nothing.' --The Asahi Shimbun, July 21 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
