153: The Japanese parliament expels some GaaSyy

He launched a career on YouTube running his mouth on celebs, but in less than a year Yoshikazu “GaaSyy” Higashitani has gone from that to running successfully for office to running from the law. Politics reporter Gabriele Ninivaggi joins the show this week to discuss what this parliamentary upstart’s rise and fall says about how politics is done in Japan. And, who exactly are the Party Politician Girls who replaced him?

Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.

On this episode: 

Shaun McKenna: Twitter | Instagram

Gabriele Ninivaggi: Articles | Twitter 

Read more: 

YouTuber turned politician GaaSyy likely to be expelled from parliament (Gabriele Ninivaggi, The Japan Times)

Upper House committee votes to expel GaaSyy from Japan’s parliament (Gabriele Ninivaggi and Kanako Takahara, The Japan Times)

YouTube and Japan’s new political underground: The rise and decline of the Party to Protect People from NHK (Max Guerrera-Sapone, Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus)

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! 

Photo: Former Upper House member GaaSyy is seen via video from his base of operations in Dubai during a press conference with NHK Party head Takashi Tachibana. | KYODO