A private citizen was able to use Twitter to expose a scandal that mainstream media ignored
Employees of Japanese toy company Tomy dressed as Twitter birds work at their desks during the company’s Halloween Day event at the company headquarters in Tokyo on Oct. 27, 2015. (Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP)
This should be a breaking news story on the first page of every Japanese national newspaper. In fact, this scandal is only spreading in the underbelly of the digital human jungle that is Twitter.
These are the fact that we have put together in a previous article. A Twitter user who goes by the handle name @himasoraakane requested an audit of the Welfare and Public Health Bureau for suspected malfeasance on the part of Colabo, a charity organization, for the way it ran its business purportedly helping abused women.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Audit Bureau actually accepted his request – which is a very rare occurrence and conducted the audit. Last year, nine out of nine such requests were rejected.
The audit was to determine whether the request was in accordance with laws and regulations. The results were made known today.
Despite the paradoxical declaration of “triumph” on the part of the Colabo lawyers, the conclusion has a much bitter taste for the public organization in question.
Although the claims of Colabo misusing funds (for example the tire fee of the van, hotel fee, and meeting fee) were dismissed by the Audit Bureau, claims of misuse of funds for “personnel expenses” were indeed accepted.
This could have colossal consequences.
The audit found some inappropriate entries in the account books. “Since there are some justifiable concerns, there are grounds for this audit request to be carried through,” it stated and recommended some measures.
If the investigation finds anything inappropriate, or an overpayment, “the past fiscal years shall also be scrutinized and appropriate measures, such as requesting a refund, shall be taken,” it said.
“All this should be done by February 28, 2023,” the bureau said.
This is a breaking news story that sure is to send shockwaves through the government and could potentially lead to widespread consequences.
Here are a couple.
Reputational damage: government organizations that misuse public funds may suffer irreparable damage to their reputation, which could lead to a decrease in support or funding from the public for other organizations that benefit the community.
If people do not trust their government, they may be less likely to participate in the democratic process, and in Japan, they already are at a very low engagement rate. This can lead to a lack of representation and a genuine feeling of disconnection from the decision-making process.
The other realization is about the absolute power of social media, especially in Japan where Twitter specifically represents a sanctuary for freedom of expression, with 58 million users (users here have multiple accounts).
The fact that a private citizen was able to use social media to reveal a scandal that the mainstream media was ignoring altogether shows the potential for these platforms to hold those in power accountable.
If in fact by Feb. 28, it will be revealed that a government organization claiming to help young abused women has been misusing public funds, it could lead to investigations of similar public organizations, albeit they being benign so far. Such investigations could then lead us further down an entirely new rabbit hole.
*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
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