Hyogo Governor Accused of Breach of Trust over Baseball Parade

   Kobe, Sept. 11 (Jiji Press)--Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito and a former vice governor have been slapped with a criminal complaint accusing them of breach of trust linked to a baseball victory parade, included in a whistleblower document against Saito, it was learned Wednesday.
   A Tokyo man submitted to the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office on Sept. 2 the complaint against Saito and former Vice Governor Yasutaka Katayama.
   The pair allegedly caused harm to the western Japan prefecture by increasing subsidies to financial institutions in exchange for sponsorship money for the 2023 parade, which celebrated victories of the local professional baseball teams Hanshin Tigers and Orix Buffaloes.
   According to the complaint, Saito and Katayama increased the subsidies, aimed at promoting efforts to strengthen small businesses, from about 100 million yen to 400 million yen through a supplementary budget last November. In exchange for the larger subsidies, they requested that financial institutions donate for the victory parade.
   The pair caused damage to the prefecture through the unnecessary subsidy hike with the aim of boosting their reputation by achieving a donation target, the complaint said, alleging that their acts amounted to breach of trust.

(2024/09/11-18:26)

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