TOKYO - A man targeted with online slander by popular Japanese YouTuber and now expelled House of Councillor GaaSyy said the digital assault was truly frightening and that it ruined my life. He dished out all he wanted without checking the facts. I was very scared, Kimio Fukutani, a 47-year-old jewelry designer in Tokyo, confided in a recent interview with Mainichi Shimbun.
In the autumn of last year, Fukutani filed a criminal complaint against GaaSyy with the Metropolitan Police Department MPD. He met a former upper house member, whose real name is Yoshikazu Higashitani, about 20 years ago. Fukutani said they became close friends, and he frequented a bar GaaSyy was running in Tokyo at the time. Their relationship waned over the years, and recently they had only been in touch with each other about once a year.
On April 11, 2022, GaaSyy posted a YouTube video in which he criticized Fukutani's friendship, among other matters. Photos of his family members were circulated, and threatening posts followed one after another. Fukutani remembered that the content was utterly groundless. It was really horrifying. He was saying whatever he wanted, and I couldn't refute his claims. The video of GaaSyy had a major impact on Fukutani's work. He was managing a jewelry shop in Tokyo's Omotesando district, but was inundated with threats and slander via phone and social media. Fukutani said that video wasted my past efforts. Fukutani began preparing to bring a criminal accusation against GaaSyy, and submitted a complaint to the MPD last fall, which was accepted.
In February of this year, after learning that Fukutani had filed the complaint, GaaSyy mentioned his name in a video and said he'll make sure to post your photos, and I'll never forgive you. Fukutani said, Now that I've filed a criminal complaint, I want to fight firmly.