First-ever expulsion for 'absence' as lawmaker who skipped Japan's parliament but took salary is ousted...

Ex-Expos? YouTuber Claims "Risk of Arrest in Japan"
Never Attended Parliament After Election, Eventually Expelled

A member of the Japanese House of Councillors, who was elected last July through proportional representation but had never attended a single parliamentary session until now, has ultimately been expelled. The disciplinary committee gave him one more chance to appear in the chamber and apologize, but he refused even that, resulting in the loss of his parliamentary seat. Although he never attended the Diet, the controversy continues as the salary and allowances he received since his election amount to about 16 million yen (approximately 150 million KRW).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 15th, Asahi Shimbun reported that the House of Councillors disciplinary committee unanimously decided to expel Higashitani Yoshikazu (member name Kashi) of the Seijika Joshi 48 Party (formerly NHK Party). This is only the third expulsion under the constitution since 1951, 72 years ago, and the first time that non-attendance at the Diet has been the reason.

Higashitani currently resides in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), claiming it is difficult to participate in parliamentary sessions. As a former YouTuber who exposed celebrities' private lives, he has been subject to many lawsuits and fears arrest if he remains active in Japan. For this reason, during the election campaign, he did not appear in person but only played voice recordings while campaigning.

Since his election, he did not show up at the July appointment ceremony last year, nor did he attend the House of Councillors session convened in January. Subsequently, the disciplinary committee ordered a “chamber apology,” requiring him to appear and apologize publicly in the chamber, but he also failed to appear, leading to a unanimous decision to impose the highest level of disciplinary action: expulsion. Japan’s parliamentary disciplinary system consists of reprimand, public apology, prohibition from attending sessions, and expulsion.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, there is debate in Japan over whether non-attendance should lead to the highest penalty of expulsion. Since he received 287,714 votes at the time of election, critics argue that expulsion ultimately disregards the will of the voters. This is partly because the Japanese Diet tends to be cautious about expulsion. In 1940, during the Imperial Diet era, Saito Takao, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s House of Representatives, was expelled for protesting the Second Sino-Japanese War by asking, “Can we achieve world peace through peace in East Asia?” Since Japan became a war criminal state, there are concerns that expelling Diet members could create a compliant parliament known as the 'Yokusan (翼?) Diet.' Asahi Shimbun also reported that in 2019, Maruyama Hodaka, a member of the House of Representatives, advocated in the Diet to “regain Dokdo through war,” but was not expelled, reflecting the cautious attitude toward expulsion.

Public opinion is divided. A woman in her 40s running a small business in Yokohama said, “Not attending doesn’t really inconvenience other members, does it? Can’t the Diet implement remote work?” Meanwhile, a man in his 20s from Tokyo told Asahi Shimbun, “He hardly did any activities. If he’s afraid of being arrested, how can he work for the voters? The salary he received so far is a waste.”

Experts are also split. Ryosuke Nishida, a professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology, said, “This unexpected figure appeared because established parties failed to capture voters’ hearts,” urging established politicians to reflect on this opportunity. However, Izuru Makihara, a professor at the University of Tokyo, analyzed, “Remote parliamentary activities are possible only under limited conditions such as physical difficulties. Since Higashitani does not meet these conditions, the disciplinary action is justified.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.