Japan is about to expel a YouTuber from its senate because he didn't show up to work for 7 months

• A Japanese YouTuber is likely to be expelled from the country's senate after not showing up to work.
• Yoshikazu Higashitani, better known as GaaSyy, has been absent since he was elected in July.

A Japanese YouTuber is likely to be expelled from his position in its national legislature after his fellow lawmakers took exception to him never showing up to work.

Yoshikazu Higashitani, better known as his social media alias GaaSyy, has been absent for 7 months since winning election to Japan's upper house of parliament in July. Per the BBC, he never actually attended in person.

A committee of lawmakers voted unanimously to expel Higashitani on March 14, citing his absenteeism. A livestream of the deliberations was broadcast on the government's website.

Per a translation by The Japan Times, committee leader Muneo Suzuki announced the decision, saying that "GaaSyy doesn't understand the foundations of democracy, which is based on laws and rules."

According to Jiji Press, a Japanese news agency, it has been 72 years since anybody was last expelled from Japan's parliament.

Higashitani, 51, used to work in the entertainment industry before becoming a YouTuber, according to The Japan Times. He then decided to expose some of his industry friends in YouTube videos, growing a following of 1.3 million.

He was elected in July as part of the NHK Party — a populist party which opposes the license fees that fund the NHK public broadcaster — after being noticed by its leader Takashi Tachibana. He won over 287,000 votes in the election as a voice for a growing number of anti-establishment voters.

Despite earning ¥18.4 million (roughly $137,000) for his role on the committee, Higashitani has not shown up since his victory.

Higashitani lives in Dubai and has said his reasons for being absent in congress are due to his fears of being arrested on returning to Japan. The Japan Times reported in January that police accuse Higashitani of defaming celebrities on his YouTube channel.

On March 8, Higashitani was ordered to come to the parliament in Tokyo in person to apologize for his absence.

Higashitani initially said he would comply, but then said he was stuck in Turkey and couldn't leave due to the catastrophic earthquakes there.

His failure to show up had consequences for his party too — Tachibana resigned as its leader, saying he took responsibility for Higashitani's "failure to keep his promise."

Another member of the NHK Party, which was renamed to seijikajoshi48party following Tachibanas resignation, is due to replace Higashitani.

Higashitani's YouTube channel was shut down in July. But he has 208,000 followers on TikTok, and 316,000 on Instagram.