NHK Party Leader Tachibana Arrested Over Slander Against Late Prefectural Assembly Member

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:30 JST, November 9, 2025

NHK Party leader Takashi Tachibana was arrested Sunday on suspicion of slandering a former member of the Hyogo prefectural assembly who was involved in probing allegations of workplace harassment by Gov. Motohiko Saito.

According to the Hyogo prefectural police, Tachibana is suspected of defaming former prefectural assembly member Hideaki Takeuchi by remarks in December last year, during Tachibana’s own campaign in the Izumiotsu mayoral election in neighboring Osaka Prefecture, saying that it was probably true that Takeuchi was being investigated by the police.

In January of this year, after Takeuchi’s death, he posted false statements on social media that Takeuchi would have been arrested.

Takeuchi’s family claims that Tachibana’s groundless remarks incited those who agreed with his views, which led to a series of defamatory posts on social media, driving Takeuchi to suicide.