NHK Party Leader Tachibana Faces Defamation and Threat Charges
Takashi Tachibana, a candidate for the Hyogo Prefecture gubernatorial election, giving a speech in Kobe city.More noticeable than Governor Motohiko Saito, who was re-elected in the Hyogo Prefecture gubernatorial election, was Takashi Tachibana, the leader of the “Party to Protect the People from NHK (NHK Party).”
“I have no intention of winning.”
He stated this and ran for the gubernatorial election, claiming to have assisted Governor Saito’s re-election.
“Assisted.”
He boasts, claiming,
He is pleased with the election results, which overturned the initial expectations based on online public opinion. During the election period, he declared revenge against the 22 mayors who criticized Governor Saito, revealing that he plans to field assassins in the mayoral elections of Takarazuka and Itami cities, which will take place in April next year.
“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.”
