NHK Party Leader Tachibana Faces Defamation and Threat Charges

“Stop staying cooped up, come out of the house.”

“Mr. Tachibana is someone who gets more hyped the more attention he receives. When Governor Saito was re-elected, it was really something (laughs). It seemed like new schemes were dropping into his mind one after another, and he was revealing his plans to a close reporter like a rapid-fire gun,” said a source from a variety show.

However, it seems that this time he may have gone a bit too far.

On November 18, Kenichi Okutani, a member of the prefectural assembly who serves as the chair of the special committee, held a press conference and revealed that Mr. Tachibana of the NHK Party had been threatened during a street speech in front of his home-office. Okutani stated that he would file a criminal complaint for defamation and other charges. According to Okutani, during his speech, Tachibana.

“Don’t stay holed up, come out of the house”

“If you keep threatening me further and Okutani ends up committing suicide, it will be troublesome, so I will stop here.”

He made such statements.

Tachibana stated it was a “legitimate election activity.”

He responded, “He himself is saying that he is carrying out this act with the intention of threatening.”

He countered, stating that his mother had temporarily evacuated from her home due to fear.

Responding to Okutani’s actions are the investigative authorities. There have long been investigators targeting Tachibana, and they are now more determined than ever.

“During the family feud within the NHK Party, we investigated the flow of money around Tachibana, but it was judged that pressing charges would be difficult. Tachibana is sharp. He gives the impression of narrowly avoiding legal trouble.”

 

According to a police former officer:

For example, regarding his actions of running for governor and supporting Saito, Representative Hiroyuki Konishi of the Constitutional Democratic Party.

“Isn’t it a violation of the Public Election Law for another candidate to engage in election activities for the benefit of another candidate?”

He anticipated this and during his speech, Tachibana stated.

“Please cast a vote for Governor Saito.”

Without using direct expressions.

“Is this okay?”

He used the expression.

Upon receiving the criminal complaint from Mr. Okutani

That being said, the immoral election campaign that is well-versed in the legal loopholes has already raised a sense of crisis among authorities and political insiders, who feel that something must be done.

Recently, Mr. Tachibana himself officially announced his candidacy for the mayoral election in Minami Awaji City, Hyogo, in January next year. At the moment, there are no other candidates, and he proudly posted on X on November 20th:

“Minami Awaji City Mayor Election, so far, only one candidate is running! In the previous and the one before that, there was no election because only one candidate was running, so can’t we have no election again and win? But, the voters of Minami Awaji City probably want to vote.”

He continued proudly.

In the Tokyo gubernatorial election in July, he supported 24 candidates and took over poster boards, causing controversy with his advertising business.

In the by-election for the House of Representatives in April, Atsuhiko Kurokawa, the leader of the Tsubasa Party, was arrested and indicted for interfering with other candidates’ election activities. He, too, was from the NHK Party. The police officer, as mentioned earlier, is furious.

“In recent years, the deterioration of elections is largely due to Mr. Tachibana’s influence. It will take time to change the laws. The authorities would like to accept Mr. Okutani’s criminal complaint and conduct an investigation for both defamation and threats. Mr. Tachibana is also aware of the authorities’ movements and has reportedly said, ‘There might be an unjust arrest.'”

Even after the Hyogo gubernatorial election, the turmoil shows no sign of settling.