Former Upper House member and YouTuber GaaSyy, who was arrested after returning to Japan from Dubai on Sunday, was essentially pressured to come back after Japanese authorities sought cooperation from their counterparts in Dubai, investigators have said.
The move came more than two months after he was expelled as an Upper House lawmaker for failing to show up to parliamentary sessions in person, soon after which police issued an arrest warrant for him over alleged threats to defame celebrities. GaaSyy, whose real name is Yoshikazu Higashitani, had said he would not return to Japan.
Pressure was exerted on GaaSyy in various ways: Following requests from Japanese investigators, he was placed on Interpol's wanted list; his passport was canceled after he failed to comply with the Foreign Ministry’s instructions to hand it over; his mother’s home was raided in March; and in May, Japanese investigators visited Dubai to seek cooperation from local authorities.