The vice governor of Hyogo Prefecture has said that he will resign over the death of a prefectural government official who created and distributed a document about alleged harassment and other problems with Gov. Motohiko Saito.
Vice Gov. Yasutaka Katayama submitted a letter of resignation on Friday and will leave office at the end of this month. Since assuming his current post in 2021, Katayama has been supporting the 46-year-old governor.
"We should take seriously our responsibility for causing stagnation and confusion in the prefectural government," Katayama said at a news conference Friday morning. "Someone in a special position (in the prefectural government) must take the blame."
According to Katayama, he told Saito of his intention to resign on Thursday afternoon. At the time, he asked Saito if the governor was willing to resign with him, but Saito indicated his eagerness to complete his term.
"I'm very sorry to the people of the prefecture and the prefectural government staff for the situation so far," Saito told a news conference Friday afternoon.
But he stressed, "I will make every effort to implement policies."
