At the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly Special Investigative Committee (Hyakujo Committee) held on the 6th, in response to the allegations against Governor Saito Motohiko, committee members repeatedly asked questions about gifts received by Saito. While Saito admitted to receiving many items such as crabs, oysters, and wine, he emphasized the legitimacy of his actions, saying, “They were brought as a kind gesture, with the hope that the Governor would eat them. It was difficult for me to decide not to accept them all.”

In response to a question from a committee member during the witness hearing on the 6th, “Is it true that you said you wanted Lego blocks from Himeji Castle?”, Saito answered matter-of-factly, “I wouldn’t say that I wanted them, but rather that I told them I thought it would be nice to display them in the governor’s office.”

Lego blocks are a toy based on Himeji Castle, released by the Lego Group, a global toy manufacturer. In June last year, Saito promoted the product dressed in samurai attire along with other company representatives, and also posted about it on his social networking site.

The indictment document states that “the governor’s tendency to ask for favors is well known even within the prefectural office,” and in a survey of employees conducted by the 100-Article Committee, about 20% answered that they had seen or heard about the governor receiving gifts. During the questioning on that day, the committee members listed gifts one by one, and Saito answered whether he had received them or not.

The items that Saito admitted to receiving or providing include Banshu-woven ties, sports team uniforms, oysters, edamame beans, wine, crab, sake, Iwatsu leeks, onions, birthday cakes, and teacups.

Saito has previously explained that he accepted the gifts because they would promote local products, but he did not promote some of them on social media, and the committee criticized him during questioning, saying, “It was just to liven up the Saito family’s dinner table.” Saito responded, “It is also an important part of my job as governor to let people know that these delicious things exist in the prefecture.”

He also explained that immediately after taking office as governor, he asked a staff member about the gifts that were arriving at the secretariat, claiming that the staff member explained to him, “We’ve been receiving a lot of them since the previous governor’s time. It’s a kind gift from the person who sent it, and it’s within the bounds of social etiquette, so it’s okay to eat them.”

Another committee member introduced the answer to a staff survey that the former governor shared gifts among his subordinates and did not take any home himself. He questioned Mr. Saito, who is said to often take gifts home by himself. Mr. Saito explained that he felt it was unfair that only employees in certain departments (such as the secretarial department) could receive them.

Saito, on the other hand, claims to have ordered the return of the coffee maker that was allegedly received in the indictment. When asked “Why did you only return the coffee maker?” he replied, “I would do something like returning something that you consume as a social courtesy, but I feel that home appliances are a little different.”

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