Editorial: Hyogo Pref.'s criminal complaint impedes media reporting in public interest
In the latest development in Gov. Motohiko Saito's alleged power harassment and other acts, the Hyogo Prefectural Government filed a criminal complaint with the prefectural police accusing an unspecified person of leaking information in violation of confidentiality obligations under the Local Public Service Act.
What cannot be overlooked is that the act of providing information to the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine was included in the subjects of the criminal complaint.
The move could undermine media outlets' ability to check governments through reports based on whistleblowing.
The Hyogo governor's alleged power abuse and other problems came to light through an anonymous document that was created by a former chief of the prefectural government's Nishiharima District Administration Office.
Based on the prefectural government's audio recordings and documents, Shukan Bunshun reported in 2024 that then vice governor had grilled the former district chief, alleging that he was the whistleblower behind the anonymous missive. Searching for a whistleblower contravenes the Whistleblower Protection Act.
Shukan Bunshun's reporting was of high public interest in providing society with a glimpse into improprieties of the prefectural government's conduct.
This fact was brought to light because of the individual who, even at risk, supplied insider information. Protecting the confidentiality of the sources of information is a crucial principle of the press.
The prefectural government's action is unacceptable as it attempted to identify and punish the informant who should be protected.
The prefecture filed the criminal accusation in response to a report by a third-party committee that investigated the information leak. Their investigation was sparked by an incident in which Takashi Tachibana, head of the political group NHK Party, and others spread online private information of unknown authenticity that was left on the former bureau chief's work computer.
The information had nothing to do with the whistleblowing and was degrading of the former bureau chief, who died in 2024.
Regardless, the prefectural government added Shukan Bunshun's digital edition reporting to the targets of investigation by lumping it together as "online information."
The implementation outline of the inquiry, including its purpose and targets, had initially been withheld, and the details were only made public on March 31 when the report was released. That's when the inclusion of the Shukan Bunshun coverage as a subject of the investigation was first disclosed.
The prefectural government's decision to treat the exposure of privacy the same as information provision that serves the public interest is beyond comprehension.
It was the governor himself who decided to set up the third-party panel. While he explained that the selection of investigation targets was at the discretion of the human affairs division, he cannot evade his responsibility as the head of the prefectural administration. The prefecture is urged to withdraw the criminal complaint that could silence its conscientious employees.
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