Takashi Tachibana Says Former Prefectural Police Chief Under Investigation, Warns of Possible Defamation

Murai calls Tachibana’s statement factually incorrect

Takashi Tachibana (58), leader of the NHK Party (“The Party to Protect the People from NHK”), has sparked controversy with remarks he made in a video published on YouTube on September 11.

Tachibana said that a major case is currently unfolding and stated:

“There’s Murai, who was the head of the Hyogo Prefectural Police. I believe he’s about my age. Various information has come regarding him.”

The person Tachibana referred to simply as “Murai” is Noriyuki Murai, the former head of the Hyogo Prefectural Police. Although Murai’s resignation had been publicly announced, he was recently reassigned to a post attached to the Cabinet Secretariat.

The relationship between Tachibana and Murai goes back to January of this year, when former Hyogo Prefectural Assembly member Hideaki Takeuchi passed away. At that time, Tachibana posted false information on social media claiming:

“Former Assemblyman Takeuchi was supposed to be arrested.”

Because this misinformation spread widely, Murai clarified at the prefectural assembly:

“Regarding former Assemblyman Takeuchi, there was no voluntary investigation of him as a suspect, and there was no plan to arrest him.”

He declared Tachibana’s statement to be completely unfounded.

In his recent video, Tachibana touched on this issue, claiming that Murai’s response was a deliberate attempt to shift the topic—a tactic known as the gohan-ronpou (rice argument) method.

In short, Tachibana’s point is that, although former Assemblyman Takeuchi was never called as a suspect, he had been summoned by the police as a witness. Therefore, Tachibana insists, what he said was not incorrect.

“I believe they are looking into General Manager Murai.”

However, Tachibana had said that former Assemblyman Takeuchi was going to be arrested. Murai merely denied that, which is not an example of the so-called gohan-ronpou (rice argument). Furthermore, regarding Murai, Tachibana stated:

“Various investigations are currently being conducted on Chief Murai,”

making a claim whose truthfulness is unclear.

In a video published on September 9, he also said:

“I think the Hyogo Prefectural Police are investigating Chief Murai. I think the person I mentioned (Murai) is probably under investigation now. And they will want to ask me again about the results of that investigation.”

Here, Tachibana implied that police questioning was not about him, but rather about Murai. It is unclear why Tachibana suddenly began making statements like this, but his remarks give the impression that Murai is a target of a criminal investigation. Could this potentially be considered defamation?

To get clarity, we asked Kōsuke Nishiwaki, former Head of the Legal Department at TV Asahi, for his opinion on Tachibana’s statements.

“Regarding Murai, Tachibana made statements on X (formerly Twitter) implying that Murai had committed some sort of wrongdoing. However, being reassigned to a Cabinet Secretariat post does not provide grounds to assert that wrongdoing occurred. Some media reports even noted this personnel change as ‘(awaiting reassignment).’ Historically, officials in ‘awaiting reassignment’ status are often appointed to a new position after some months. If it were a disciplinary action, they would typically not be reported this way.”

In other words, past examples show that officials labeled as awaiting reassignment often receive new posts a few months later.

“It is clear that asserting Murai committed wrongdoing diminishes his social reputation. If Murai did not commit any misconduct, then Tachibana’s statements are untrue. Whether Tachibana could reasonably believe his claims to be true is a separate issue of factual justification. However, this series of events—resignation followed by a personnel reassignment—is unusual, but it is difficult to conclude that it provides a sufficient basis to ‘reasonably believe wrongdoing occurred.’ The outcome of personnel matters is uncertain, and nothing can be definitively claimed. If no disciplinary action occurred, Tachibana may have defamed Murai without solid evidence.” (Kōsuke Nishiwaki, lawyer)

Moreover, even if something had happened with Murai, it is unlikely that the police would summon Tachibana for questioning about it.

Tachibana himself was summoned by the Hyogo Prefectural Police on September 16 for questioning. However, the video he posted that day was unusual. Previously, he had often discussed aspects of police questioning, but on this occasion, he said nothing. Regarding Murai, he made a finger-to-lips “shh” gesture, implying something without speaking.

According to lawyer Nishiwaki:

“In the September 1 video, Tachibana made remarks suggesting that the investigating officer had reacted to Murai’s case. It is possible that he was instructed not to reveal anything from the questioning, or that his own investigation had reached a critical stage. Either way, this video differed from his previous posts.”

Tachibana himself noted that the intervals between police questioning sessions have become shorter. A sense of urgency now seems to surround him. Could the situation take a sudden and dramatic turn?