Hyogo governor referred to prosecutors over alleged vote-buying

Police referred Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito to prosecutors Friday on suspicion of vote-buying over his alleged payments to a public relations company for campaign activities in the prefecture's gubernatorial election last November, people familiar with the investigation said.
The prefectural police sent papers on Saito, 47, to prosecutors after a criminal complaint was filed last December over the governor's alleged payments in violation of the public offices election law. The police also sent papers on the 33-year-old president of the PR firm.
Saito has also been referred to prosecutors for an alleged breach of trust related to a victory parade for local baseball teams.
The governor has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Speaking to reporters in Kobe on Friday, Saito said, "There is no change in my recognition that I've acted in compliance with laws, including the public offices election law." The PR company president has not responded to requests for comment.
Saito is suspected of paying ¥715,000 to the PR firm on Nov. 4 last year for work on his re-election campaign, which included planning a PR strategy and managing the campaign's social media presence.
The PR company president said in an online post on Nov. 20, 2024, three days after the election, that her company had been tasked with overall PR activities by Saito's team. The governor later refuted her claim during a news conference.
In December, a lawyer and a university professor filed a criminal complaint against Saito over the alleged payments.
After the PR firm refused to cooperate adequately with requests for voluntary questioning and document submissions, investigators seized evidence, including a smartphone, during a raid on the company's office in February.
Saito first took office as Hyogo governor in August 2021. After being ousted from the post by the prefectural assembly last September over harassment allegations, he won re-election two months later.

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