Hyogo Governor Accused of Payments for Social Media Campaign

Kobe, Dec. 2 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese lawyer and a professor said Monday that they have filed a criminal complaint accusing Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito of paying a public relations company to run his social media campaign for last month’s gubernatorial election.

The complaint against Saito, who won re-election in the Nov. 17 race in the western Japan prefecture, for suspected violation of the public offices election law was filed with the Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office and the Hyogo prefectural police department by lawyer Nobuo Gohara and Hiroshi Kamiwaki, professor at Kobe Gakuin University.

The complaint says the president of the public relations company received an order from Saito’s side to come up with his social media strategy and manage his social media accounts during the campaign. Saito paid the company 715,000 yen for its services, it says.

After the election, the president said in an online post that the company had been involved in all parts of Saito’s social media strategy and public relations. A lawyer for Saito responded that the president had engaged in the activities as a volunteer, other than five items including making posters.

In an online press conference on Monday, Gohara doubted that a company that specializes in social media strategies did the service as a volunteer.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]