YouTuber-turned-MP kicked out of Japan’s parliament for never going to work

Yoshikazu Higashitani was formerly a celebrity gossip YouTuber before turning to politics. Photo / YouTube @GaaSyy

A YouTuber-turned-politician has become the first Japanese MP to be expelled by the country’s parliament in more than 70 years, after failing to turn up for a single day’s work since he was elected last year.

Yoshikazu Higashitani, a celebrity gossip YouTuber better known as GaaSyy, has not shown up for work since he was elected to the upper house last July.

Higashitani, now dubbed No Show MP, was stripped of his status by parliament’s discipline committee due to his prolonged absence, making him the first MP to be expelled since 1951.

The YouTuber and former businessman is said to be at his home in Dubai and reportedly fears being arrested if he returns to Japan, where he faces alleged defamation claims from celebrities, according to media reports.

The decision to expel Higashitani, an elected member of the fringe party Seijika Joshi 48, came after he was ordered to apologise for his absence earlier this month, giving him a final opportunity to show up.

However, his continued absence apparently angered members of parliament. While he initially expressed his hope to return, he went on to announce on social media that he was in fact going to Turkey and would donate his salary to the Turkish earthquake relief.

“GaaSyy doesn’t understand the foundations of democracy, which is based on laws and rules,” said Muneo Suzuki, head of the parliamentary disciplinary committee.

‘The Underbelly of the Celebrity World’

Higashitani was elected to parliament under the proportional representational system, as one of two members of the populist Seijika Joshi 48 Party, which loosely translates to “Politicians Girls 48 Party” and was known as the NHK Party until earlier this month.

Before his YouTube fame, Higashitani reportedly ran a series of bars in cities including Tokyo and Osaka, befriending celebrities and enjoying a lifestyle of “money liquor and women,” according to local media reports.

He then turned to producing video exposes of Japanese celebrities through his network of entertainment contacts.

His videos, posted on a YouTube channel called The Underbelly of the Celebrity World, often focused on the relationships and alleged extramarital affairs of TV host stars, before it was suspended last year.

Today, after being kicked off YouTube, he operates a pay-per-view channel with 40,000 subscribers, apparently including his commentaries on modern Japanese celebrity life, according to media reports.However, Tokyo police have reportedly been investigating complaints from celebrities that he had allegedly defamed, with several locations connected to him searched earlier this year.

His expulsion will reportedly result in the loss of immunity privileges granted to Japanese MPs, who are “exempt from apprehension” while the National Diet is in session.