Crime & Courts

Ex-lawmaker GaaSyy to Be Arrested upon Expected Return to Japan

Courtesy of the Seijika Joshi 48 Party
Former upper house lawmaker Yoshikazu Higashitani, who goes by GaaSyy

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:03 JST, June 4, 2023

Former House of Councillors lawmaker GaaSyy, who is wanted for allegedly threatening celebrities in online videos, was due to return to Japan from the United Arab Emirates on Sunday afternoon, according to investigative sources.

The Metropolitan Police Department plans to arrest him upon his return.

In March, the MPD obtained an arrest warrant for the expelled lawmaker, whose real name is Yoshikazu Higashitani, on charges including violating the Law on Punishment of Physical Violence and Others. At the request of the National Police Agency, Interpol issued an international arrest warrant for Higashitani in April.

In late May, the NPA and the MPD dispatched investigators to the UAE, where Higashitani was staying, to urge local authorities to repatriate him as soon as possible.

According to a senior MPD officer, Higashitani, 51, is suspected of repeatedly making threatening and defamatory remarks about three men — a celebrity, a businessperson and a designer — in videos posted on YouTube between February and August last year.

One of the men is said to have been forced to withdraw from his business activities.