KOBE -- Reelected Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito's campaign team said that it had commissioned a PR firm to manage social media ahead of the November 2024 gubernatorial election, a former supporter disclosed at a Jan. 21 press conference.

The reported admission follows a complaint alleging Saito violated Japan's election law by hiring a business to run his campaign's public relations tasks.

According to the former supporter and other sources, on Oct. 5, 2024, prior to the official election period, Saito and his campaign's PR team were introduced to Minami Uehara, a Kobe Municipal Assembly member who had expressed interest in assisting Saito's campaign with video promotions. The campaign reportedly mentioned the president of the PR company by name, saying, "She is the only one who can handle video editing, so this is helpful." A video interview with Saito was recorded on the spot.

Later that evening, however, the campaign's PR official informed the former supporter on the phone that their assistance would no longer be needed. Uehara also received a message the following day on the Line messaging app, stating, "We have entrusted a PR company to supervise our social media."

Uehara corroborated this account in a separate interview. At the press conference, the former supporter stated, "Gov. Saito should clarify the facts surrounding this matter."

The issue involving Saito's campaign surfaced when the PR agency president disclosed online after the election that her firm had been "entrusted with all aspects of Gov. Saito's public relations."

In December, Kobe Gakuin University professor Hiroshi Kamiwaki and lawyer Nobuo Gohara filed a criminal complaint with the Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office and Hyogo Prefectural Police, alleging that paid social media campaigning by the PR agency violated the Public Offices Election Act. They accused Saito of vote-buying and the PR company president of receiving bribes. The complaint has been accepted by the investigative authorities.

Saito's legal representative claims that some 700,000 yen (about $4,500) was paid to the PR company for services such as poster design, asserting that these payments were within the scope permitted under the election law.

(Japanese original by Toru Kurita and Kotaro Ono, Kobe Bureau)