Voting gets underway for by-elections to fill three vacant seats in Japan's House of Representatives, with the popularity of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida having plunged due to a slush funds scandal that has eroded public trust in his Liberal Democratic Party.
Voting is under way in by-elections to fill two vacant seats in Japan's parliament, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party facing off against the leading opposition force in one-on-one battles.
The suspension of a local lawmaker for refusing to return home from abroad to face criminal charges is lenient compared to the expulsion of a Japanese legislator for absenteeism. Member of Parliament Yoshikazu Higashitani was the first Japan Upper House MP to be expelled for not reporting for work since his election in July. Higashitani
Tokyo police have obtained an arrest warrant for a YouTuber and former lawmaker, currently residing overseas, on suspicion of making threatening and defamatory statements about celebrities in videos on his YouTube channel, investigative sources say.
A YouTuber-turned-lawmaker was expelled from Japan's upper house on March 15 for not attending any parliamentary sessions since being elected last year, making him the first member of the Diet to be removed in more than seven decades.