Defendant Garthy
The trial of former House of Councilors member Garthy (real name Yoshikazu Higashitani), 52, who was charged with five crimes, including violation of the Violent Acts Act (habitual intimidation), for threatening actors and other actors with revealing posts on a video posting site, has begun. The case was held at the Tokyo District Court on the 8th, and prosecutors requested a four-year prison sentence. The defense requested a suspended sentence at the conclusion of the trial. The verdict is set for March 14th.
At his first trial, the defendant admitted to the charges and apologized, but the defense argued that his threatening behavior was not habitual. In their argument today, the prosecution pointed out that the defendant has a habit of defaming people under the guise of revealing information, and that he is habitual of repeatedly posting videos that are laced with falsehoods. He said the crime was a professional crime motivated by personal grudges and should be sentenced to prison.
The defense argued that the distribution had social significance. In his final statement, the defendant said, “I am sorry for causing anxiety and fear to the victims.I vow to never do something like this again.”
According to the indictment, from February to September 2022, he is alleged to have threatened four people, including actor Tsuyoshi Ayano (42), on YouTube and other sites. He is said to have threatened Ayano and two others in February last year in an attempt to get them to drop their charges.