Editorial
16:04 JST, November 19, 2024
The will of the people as expressed in elections, which are the basis of democracy, must be respected.
However, in the process of forming the public will, if information of unknown authenticity spreads on social media and elections that should be fair are distorted, it is a serious situation.
Former Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito, who lost his post in response to a unanimous vote on a no-confidence motion against him by the prefectural assembly, was returned to power in a fresh election.
The no-confidence motion was triggered by whistleblowing by a former senior prefectural official about allegations of workplace bullying by Saito. Saito did not treat the accusation as public-interest whistleblowing, but instead ordered other senior officials to investigate the case and identified the former senior official and took disciplinary action against........