Photo/Illutration Yoshikazu Higashitani’s nameplate is not upright, indicating his absence at the Upper House plenary session on Jan. 23. (Koichi Ueda)

The Upper House’s disciplinary committee is demanding Yoshikazu Higashitani, a YouTuber-turned-lawmaker known online as “GaaSyy,” apologize for failing to turn up at the Diet since he won office last summer.

And he could risk losing his seat if he does not.

The committee members unanimously decided on Feb. 21 that Higashitani, who is known for dishing out celebrity gossip on his YouTube channel, must return from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where he now lives, to appear in the chamber to apologize for his absenteeism.

Higashitani won his seat in July through proportional representation as a member of the populist NHK Party, which opposes the fees collected by the public broadcaster. But more than half a year has passed and he has yet to return to Japan to set foot in the legislature.

During the committee meeting, Satoshi Hamada, another Upper House member of the NHK Party, read out a statement on Higashitani’s behalf that said he “could be unfairly detained” if he returns to Japan because police have received complaints that he has defamed and threatened people.

Hamada later told reporters that Higashitani will not apologize.

Lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties support holding another disciplinary committee hearing in early March to expel Higashitani from the chamber if he fails to apologize, according to sources.

During the meeting, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan demanded Higashitani be immediately expelled from the chamber, the most severe punishment available to the committee.

But the ruling Liberal Democratic Party took a more cautious approach, so the committee ultimately settled on ordering an apology, one of the least severe disciplinary measures at its disposal.

“This is an issue concerning a Diet member’s status,” said Hiroshige Seko, a member of the committee and the LDP’s Upper House secretary-general.

The committee intends to formalize its decision at a Feb. 22 plenary session.

If the plenary session agrees that an apology is required, it would be the first disciplinary action taken against an Upper House member in nearly a decade.

In 2013, the late Antonio Inoki, a former professional wrestler who became an Upper House member with Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), was barred from attending the chamber for 30 days after visiting North Korea without permission.

(This article was written by Yoshitaka Isobe and Shohei Sasagawa.)

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