Anti-NHK Group Leader Tachibana Referred to Prosecutors

Tokyo, July 2 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police have sent to prosecutors papers on Takashi Tachibana, leader of a political group criticizing Japan Broadcasting Corp., or NHK, for suspected defamation related to campaign posters for the July 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election, it was learned Thursday. The Metropolitan Police Department took the action Monday. Tachibana, 58, is suspected of defaming Ayaka Otsu, leader of Minna de Tsukuru To, a political group, through the posters. The MPD also referred to prosecutors a man in his 40s from Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, and Satoshi Hamada, a 49-year-old former House of Councillors member of the Tachibana-led group, for allegedly defaming Otsu and abetting the suspected crime, respectively, according to investigative sources. The Hiroshima man allegedly created a defamatory video accessible via a quick response, or QR, code on the posters, and the MPD recommended his indictment. Meanwhile the police department left to prosecutors the decision on whether to indict Tachibana and Hamada. At a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday, Otsu said she filed a criminal complaint with the MPD in September 2024. The action is “not only for myself but also to prevent future damage,” Otsu said. “I hope that prosecutors will take strict action.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]