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Yomiuri Shimbun file photo The Metropolitan Police Department on November 1, 2020, in Chiyoda ward, Tokyo.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
16:56 JST, April 6, 2023
Disgraced former House of Councillors member Yoshikazu Higashitani, who goes by the name GaaSyy and has never attended a Diet session, might soon have little presence online as well.
The Metropolitan Police Department has requested social media operators to freeze Higashitani’s accounts.
A warrant for Higashitani’s arrest has already been issued over allegations he threatened celebrities and other people on video-sharing websites.
According to a senior MPD official, the requests were issued to the operators of the TwitCasting video-streaming service and the TikTok video-sharing app.
Higashitani, 51, is thought to be in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The National Police Agency has asked Interpol to issue an international notice for Higashitani.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry has ordered Higashitani to surrender his passport by April 13. If he fails to do so, the passport will become invalid.
The MPD last month obtained an arrest warrant for Higashitani on suspicion of habitual intimidation in violation of the Law on Punishment of Physical Violence and Others. Higashitani, however, has continued to make comments about celebrities on social media.
