Former Japanese lawmaker and YouTuber GaaSyy was given a suspended prison term Thursday for charges including habitually intimidating celebrities online.
The Tokyo District Court sentenced the 52-year-old defendant, whose real name is Yoshikazu Higashitani, to three years in prison, suspended for five years. Prosecutors had sought a four-year prison term for the former upper house lawmaker.
"Although the defendant argues his actions were carried out with a sense of justice, the threats were made for the purpose of making money through distributing videos," Presiding Judge Koji Saeki said in handing down the ruling.
According to the ruling, GaaSyy intimidated Japanese actor Go Ayano, 42, and three other individuals on YouTube between February and September 2022. He also threatened Ayano and another individual in February last year in an attempt to make them drop their criminal complaints filed against him.
"I will continue to hold feelings of apology toward the victims and pledge never to do the same things again," GaaSyy said at the court prior to the ruling. GaaSyy admitted to the charges at his first trial hearing held last September.
Although his defense lawyer denied in the trial that the defendant's actions amounted to habitual threats, the judge recognized they were habitual, as his YouTube video uploads continued for a long period of time and his actions were deemed professional.
GaaSyy became a popular YouTuber, posting videos about celebrity scandals on his channel. He was elected on the ticket of a minor opposition party under the proportional representation system in July 2022, but was expelled from the House of Councillors last March for not attending any parliamentary sessions.
GaaSyy was placed on an international wanted list at one point, as he had been in the United Arab Emirates. Japanese police arrested him upon his return last June.
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