TOKYO, Sept. 13, 2024—No matter how many of his potentially illegal acts emerge, a Japanese prefecture governor is lying, denying and refusing to step down, the attitude that he clearly learned from Donald Trump.
And like the January 6 commission, the special committee investigating Motohiko Saito, the 46-years-old Hyogo governor, is finding it frustrated and almost powerless by his obscure answers to interpellations, unable to even draw hints of resignation.By Sept. 13, the entire Hyogo government assembly agreed to support a resolution to demand his ouster from the governor’s chair. Even so, Saito isn’t likely to budge, probably forcing the assembly to a referendum to collect 2/3rd of public support to force him out, the process that’s costly and time-consuming.
Why Saito can continue digging in his heels and stonewalling to demands for explanations and his resignation for his power harassment that allegedly forced two close aides to commit suicide and dozens of others to report his harassment acts? The man had been well trained to withstand pressure from politicians when he was working as a bureaucrat of the Somusho (the ministry of internal affairs and communications), being prompted steadily and at one time working for the 2011 earthquake and nuclear power meltdown reconstruction team. He must have learned a lot about planning and execution, his capacity that Hyogo voters liked.
But Saito was a power hungry bureaucrat, obsessed about elevations, reputations, and money for comfy living. After he sat on the governor chair, all his ambitions took off, acting like a king, forcing deputy governor and others to be loyal, obedient and subservient beyond the roles of royal family butlers. Those are the experiences he cannot rid of so is resisting resignation.
His manner is giving textbook lessons to young and upcoming Japanese bureaucrats, who are seeing themselves being left behind by their schoolmates joining financial services and hitechs making multiple times more than government pays for fast cars, high-rise condos and beautiful women and men. ‘My hope is Mr. Saito comes out of this grilling unscathed and continue as governor,’ a young government official from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
Continuing as a bureaucrat in Japan means job security (they cannot be discharged by law, practice and tradition), an important trait in the Japanese society that’s gearing fast to the gig work economy. But it also means long, tedious hours preparing speeches for Diet (parliament) members, and dull.
So, young and bright ones these days often spend the first several years in government, then go to the private-sector, and/or join politics such as ministry-dispatched advisors to local government offices – like Saito did once – collect name cards, then run for local assemblies, small city and prefecture governors. Eventually, they go to national politics, like 1/3rd of Japanese Diet (parliament) members.
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