Tokyo police on Thursday secured an arrest warrant for YouTuber GaaSyy, who lost his seat as an Upper House lawmaker the day before, for allegedly intimidating and defaming celebrities in videos he posted on social media.
On Wednesday, the Upper House voted to expel GaaSyy, 51 — whose real name is Yoshikazu Higashitani — from parliament for absenteeism after he failed to attend a single Diet session since being elected in July. He then failed to apologize in person, ending his nearly eight-month political career.
In January, investigators raided several locations linked to GaaSyy or a Tokyo company that manages advertising revenue from his videos posted on social media. On Thursday, Tokyo police also secured an arrest warrant for a company owner who edited the controversial videos GaaSyy posted.