Photo/Illutration Yoshikazu Higashitani arrives at Narita Airport on June 4. (Hikaru Uchida)

Former lawmaker Yoshikazu Higashitani, better known as GaaSyy, raked in more than 100 million yen ($718,000) in revenue through YouTube as his videos, including ones containing suspected threats, heightened his popularity, sources said.

Higashitani, 51, was arrested on June 4 on suspicion of threatening an actor, an entrepreneur and a designer between February and August 2022 by suggesting he would damage their reputations on YouTube.

The suspect on that day returned to Japan from the United Arab Emirates, where he had been staying since December 2021. He was sent to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on June 6.

Higashitani told investigators that he did not think that what he did would constitute a crime, investigative sources said, but he has refused to sign a record of his oral statements during questioning.

Between April and August 2022, the company operating the YouTube platform paid more than 100 million yen to an account managed by a company based in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, according to sources in Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department.

The Shinjuku company, which was established in 2019, was effectively controlled by Higashitani’s male acquaintance.

Higashitani operated his own YouTube channel from February 2022 until it was frozen in July that year. More than 1.2 million viewers subscribed to his channel at its peak.

The MPD searched a site connected to Higashitani’s acquaintance in January.

Investigators confirmed that the more than 100 million yen was transferred from the company’s account to accounts held by Higashitani and a relative, as well as other accounts managed by other individuals, the sources said.

Police believe these people worked with Higashitani in producing and uploading his videos, they said.

YouTubers can receive part of advertisement fees paid by sponsors and part of subscription fees paid by viewers from the YouTube platform operator. Such fees change depending on the number of views and other factors.

The MPD suspects Higashitani repeatedly used extreme expressions in his videos, including threatening behavior, to attract viewers and increase his revenue, sources said.

Higashitani is accused of repeatedly threatening celebrities on YouTube in violation of the law on punishment of physical violence and other acts.

Running on the ticket of what is now the Seijika Joshi 48 Party, Higashitani won an Upper House seat in July last year through the proportional representation portion of the election.

The chamber expelled him in March because he refused to leave Dubai and never once appeared in the Diet as a lawmaker.

(This article was written by Keita Yamaguchi and Tabito Fukutomi.)

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