Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito left the room while a reporter was still asking a question at his regular press conference on October 28, after being asked about the defeat of a former deputy governor and about an exit poll on his administration.
Yasutaka Katayama, who served as deputy governor under Saito, lost the Hyogo prefectural assembly by-election in the Takasago city district held on October 25. Asked about the result, Saito answered, "Yes, thank you for your hard work," J-CAST News reported.
Katayama resigned in July 2024, citing the confusion caused by a document issue. When he announced he would step down as deputy governor, he told reporters he felt responsible for failing to support the governor, and his tearful manner drew attention at the time.
An exit poll that split voters
A reporter from the Kobe Shimbun described the paper's exit poll of 923 voters. Asked whether they approved of how Saito runs the prefecture, 45 percent said they did and 40 percent said they did not, including those who answered "somewhat" either way.
The reporter asked how Saito read the figures, given that views of his administration had split. The same poll, broken down by vote, found that 64 percent of people who voted for the winner, Sayaka Shimazu, did not approve of Saito's administration, while 86 percent of those who voted for Katayama did, again including "somewhat" answers.
The reporter then asked whether Saito thought views of his administration had influenced how people voted. Saito left the venue during the questioning.