Internet personality and former lawmaker GaaSyy was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years, by the Tokyo District Court on Thursday for defaming and intimidating celebrities in online videos.

The 52-year-old GaaSyy, whose real name is Yoshikazu Higashitani, was on trial for having repeatedly defamed four people ¡ª including actor Go Ayano, 42 ¡ª on online video platforms such as YouTube between February 2022 and August that year. He additionally threatened two out of the four after finding out that they were filing a criminal lawsuit.

Presiding Judge Koji Saeki ruled that although GaaSyy had said the motivation for making the videos was to reveal alleged misdeeds by celebrities, in reality it stemmed from of ¡°a selfish desire¡± to gain views and make money, so he could repay his own debts.

His acts seriously threatened the victims, causing them ¡°enormous financial damage¡± through online hate, the cancellation of commercial deals and the shutdowns of businesses, the judge said.

GaaSyy admitted during the trial to having made remarks that could be considered threatening, but he denied the habitual nature of the threats and argued that the physical violence punishment law, under which he was tried, was designed to crack down on members of criminal organizations and therefore would not apply to his acts.

Prosecutors had sought four years in prison.

The ruling recognized that GaaSyy had come to terms with the gravity of his crimes and that he had made a deep apology to his victims in court.

The trial began last September, and he had been released on a ?30 million bail. Around 240 people lined up for a lottery for 19 gallery seats for Thursday¡¯s ruling.

GaaSyy originally rose to fame by posting videos about celebrity scandals on his YouTube channel. He was elected to the Upper House in June 2022, having campaigned solely online from Dubai.

He stayed in Dubai and did not attend parliament once, resulting in him being stripped of his lawmaker status in March 2023. His arrest was delayed, since lawmakers have a constitutional protection against arrest while a parliamentary session is ongoing, but was detained at Narita Airport when he returned to Japan in June the same year.