Ishin Politician Admits Giving Papers to NHK Party Boss

   Kobe, Feb. 19 (Jiji Press)--Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) said Wednesday that a Hyogo prefectural assembly member of the party has admitted his involvement in providing key documents to Takashi Tachibana, leader of controversial political group NHK Party.
   Nippon Ishin announced results of its probes into the assembly member, Minoru Kishiguchi, suspected of providing the documents related to alleged harassment by Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito. According to the party, Kishiguchi regrets his act.
   Tachibana repeatedly made defamatory comments on former assembly member Hideaki Takeuchi, who sat on the assembly's powerful special committee investigating the allegations against Saito. Takeuchi died in January in an apparent suicide.
   Tachibana said he received information from Kishiguchi, deputy leader of the committee, about Takeuchi's movements related to the allegations against Saito.
   According to Nippon Ishin Secretary-General Ryohei Iwatani, the party interviewed both Kishiguchi and Tachibana. Kishiguchi admitted that he met with Tachibana on Nov. 1 last year during the campaign period for the gubernatorial election in which Saito won re-election although he had been effectively ousted by the assembly.

(2025/02/20-00:02)