The Japanese opposition party Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) voted to expel Yoshikazu Higashitani, an independent lawmaker and YouTube personality, from the House of Councillors on Friday for his failure to attend a single parliamentary session since his election in July.
The expulsion is the first of its kind in the history of Japan’s bicameral legislature, and is the result of a motion that was passed with a majority of 131-0.
Higashitani, who was elected to the House of Councillors in the July 2019 election, claimed to be too busy with his YouTube channel to attend any of the parliamentary sessions. He had also failed to attend any committee meetings or committee sessions.
The expulsion is a huge blow to Higashitani’s career, and it is likely that he will not be able to seek re-election in the next parliamentary election.