Pre-Dawn Arrest of Tachibana Signals New Police Crackdown

According to investigators, Tachibana told police he does not intend to dispute the facts of what he said. When sent to prosecutors on November 10th, he appeared with a smile.

Police detained Tachibana at around 3:40 a.m. inside a parked investigation vehicle in a coin parking lot in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. While usually based in Tokyo, he had traveled to Dubai last month, and investigators cited possible risks of flight or evidence destruction as reasons for his arrest at that unusual hour.

Authorities believe the defamation stems from false claims Tachibana made on social media about former Hyogo assemblyman Takeuchi, who had been involved in a prefectural committee probing alleged power harassment by the Hyogo governor. Tachibana criticized Takeuchi by name after running for the Hyogo gubernatorial election in October last year, and again when he ran for mayor of Izumiotsu in December. At that point, Takeuchi had already resigned from the assembly.

Takeuchi passed away this January, but Tachibana continued to spread false claims online that the former assemblyman had been under continuous police questioning and was scheduled to be arrested the next day. Hyogo Prefectural Police have denied these claims as completely unfounded. In June, Takeuchi’s widow filed a criminal complaint, leading to Tachibana’s arrest nearly five months later.

Former Osaka District Public Prosecutor Masataka Kamei noted that arrests for defamation are rare, as the offense is typically handled without detention. He suggested police moved quickly due to Tachibana’s prior record and his potential use of social media to influence or intimidate others, calling him “a unique suspect from a law enforcement perspective.” Kamei said the pre-dawn timing likely aimed to avoid confusion or escalation that could arise if the arrest had been publicized online in real time.

Kamei explained that the police probably regarded the incident as serious because the misinformation may have influenced public perception of a deceased individual and caused reputational harm even after death. The fact that someone died as a result of related stress, regardless of direct causation, amplifies the perceived gravity. He also pointed out that Tachibana’s suspended sentence for a prior offense and the similarity of the new allegations could lead to a prison term if convicted.

Commentator Takaoka added that when he first heard the arrest occurred at 3 a.m. in a parking lot, he imagined a fugitive situation, but later learned it happened quietly in a police vehicle. Tachibana had previously livestreamed his appearances and confrontations, making investigators wary of similar incidents.

Kamei further said that allowing a non-custodial investigation would risk the suspect broadcasting details of the investigation, potentially intimidating witnesses or spreading further misinformation through his network of supporters.

As for the legal prospects, Kamei noted that proving defamation against a deceased person is significantly more difficult than against a living one, as prosecutors must establish that the statements were knowingly false and made with malicious intent. In contrast, defamation of a living person only requires proof that the statements harmed reputation without a reasonable basis for believing they were true.

Because police and prosecutors have already determined that Tachibana’s posts contained falsehoods, the key question will be whether he had sufficient grounds to believe the information was true. If not, a conviction is likely for the statements made while Takeuchi was alive. However, the threshold for posthumous defamation remains higher.

Kamei said investigators will now seek to determine whether the information Tachibana cited came from a credible source or from individuals providing unreliable accounts. The outcome will depend on how those information providers testify and whether their statements remain consistent during questioning.

The case has drawn attention as a test of how law enforcement handles defamatory content spread via social media by prominent public figures, and whether such cases will increasingly lead to criminal prosecution in Japan’s evolving online environment.

Source: YOMIURI