Tokyo police obtained an arrest warrant Thursday for a YouTuber and former lawmaker, currently residing overseas, on suspicion of making threatening and defamatory statements about celebrities in videos on his YouTube channel, investigative sources said.
The police will ask the Foreign Ministry to confiscate the passport of Yoshikazu Higashitani, also known as GaaSyy, and put him on an international wanted list through the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, the sources said. GaaSyy is known for exposing celebrity scandals on his YouTube videos.
"I will not go back to Japan. I will not return to a world that is uptight," he said via an online platform.
GaaSyy, 51, was stripped of his status as a lawmaker Wednesday by Japan's upper house of parliament for not attending any sessions since being elected last year. He has lived in the United Arab Emirates since before the upper house election in July 2022, when he won his seat.
GaaSyy was the first member of the Diet to be removed in more than seven decades.
The police have repeatedly asked GaaSyy to submit voluntarily to questioning over alleged defamation and extortion after receiving criminal complaints from celebrities in connection with YouTube videos he posted between February and August last year, the sources said.
But he refused repeated requests by the police to return to Japan and undergo questioning and continued posting threatening content, prompting them to seek an arrest warrant, according to the sources.
He is believed to have threatened three people, of whom he had obstructed one person's business, the sources said.
The police in January also raided the home of the owner of a company that manages advertising revenue earned from GaaSyy's videos.
GaaSyy's expulsion was the most serious reprimand out of the four levels under the national Diet law.
A member of the small, single-issue Seijikajoshi48 Party, GaaSyy was last week given a chance to apologize in a House of Councillors plenary session -- the third-strictest punishment available. But he did not do so in person, having previously sent an apology by video, which was not accepted.
As a result, GaaSyy's behavior was brought up again at the disciplinary committee for "disturbing the order" in parliament, and he was expelled.
At a press conference, Seijikajoshi48 party leader, Ayaka Otsu, said news of the arrest warrant for GaaSyy was "unfortunate."
© KYODO
22 Comments
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Shirokuma4812
Am I missing something? Why are they not talking about the prefecture that he represented? Embarrassing?
3RENSHO
”...also known as GaaSyy" = がじ。。。？ Is this the same individual, currently being reported on the domestic Japanese news cycle?
Asiaman7
Abuse of Interpol?
3RENSHO
"I will not go back to Japan. I will not return to a world that is uptight," he said via an online platform.
Is Japan uptight?
garypen
Yeah, because his current home, the UAE, is real loosey goosey. You can do anything there! Well, except eat a ham sandwich, or look at porn, drink a beer in public, use profanity in public, kiss your spouse in public, have a same-sex relationship, criticize the government, and so on. Not uptight at all!
borscht
Who elects these people?
Righteous
Respect.
sakurasuki
Put someone on international wanted list because sexual assault? Robbery? Homicide?
In Japan only for online defamation.
WeiWei
Seems like an abuse of power from the authorities. For online defamation? There is no real crime? Tokyo olympics? Dentsu?
TrevorPeace
The police (and JGov) response is certainly 'uptight'.
Rodney
Japan needs more innovative guys like him and Horimon. No more dinosaurs…
rainyday
He was elected via the proportional representation system, rather than as a candidate in a single seat constituency, so he doesn’t represent a specific locality.
smithinjapan
The guy is a complete and utter lout who should never have run for office if he "didn't care" like he claims he doesn't when kicked out, and that he would never apologize to the people because "it's their fault for voting me in" and the like. Obviously he's being made an example of, but "who cares?"
justasking
Interpol for a crime with punishment of cash. 100,000JPY to be exact.
Gaijinjland
How is alleged defamation criminal and how does that warrant Interpol? Wouldn’t it be civil?
How about the all the Japanese mothers with arrest warrants on interpol who flouted Hague convention orders and are still living comfortably in Japan with their kids that Japan refuses to arrest?
Strangerland
Defamation can be both in Japan.
Strangerland
Defamation can be both civil and criminal in Japan.
Aly Rustom
I've been to Dubai. My brother and cousin live there. I had beers with my cousin and had sweet and sour pork in a mall.
You're confusing Dubai with Saudi and Iran. Different countries.
Aly Rustom
They also have gay bars there
Open-minded
You can if you have money and not a citizen of the UAE. Actually, only the first point really matters. The second one is not that important.
Speed
This guy is my new hero.
Kniknaknokkaer
I'm trying to figure out how what he's doing is any different to tabloid papers/gossip magazines. They too look to profit from exposing scandals.