THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
January 12, 2023 at 18:00 JST
"GaaSyy," second from left, whose real name is Yoshikazu Higashitani, celebrates in Dubai after winning an Upper House seat on July 10. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Police on Jan. 11 searched multiple locations in Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture related to Yoshikazu Higashitani, a lawmaker who is also a YouTuber named “GaaSyy.”
The Metropolitan Police Department suspects Higashitani, 51, threatened and defamed celebrities in videos posted on his YouTube channel.
Higashitani was elected to the Upper House in July, but he has not attended any Diet proceedings because he has been living in Dubai.
In a YouTube video posted on Jan. 12, Higashitani said he would return to Japan in early March, volunteer for questioning by police, and also go to the Diet.
Some of the locations searched on Jan. 11 were connected to a person who runs a company that manages ad revenue from Higashitani’s YouTube channel, according to investigative sources.
Multiple celebrities have lodged complaints with police about Higashitani, who is known for dishing out celebrity gossip on his popular YouTube channel.
In one video, Higashitani urged a company owner to go out of business. Police suspect the request was an extortion attempt and a forcible obstruction of business, the sources said.
Higashitani was elected under the banner of the populist NHK Party, which opposes the subscription fees collected by public broadcaster Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK).
He was absent for the entirety of the two-month extraordinary Diet session that ended on Dec. 10.
In December, police urged Higashitani to return to Japan for voluntary questioning.
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