Japan police arrest YouTuber on suspicion of defamation after man dies

TOKYO – Japanese police arrested a 28-year-old YouTuber on Oct 14 on suspicion of defamation after he posted a video online referring to a former real estate company executive as “a con man”.An investigative source said the suspect, Miki Ikeda, a resident of Tokyo’s Nakano Ward, goes by the name “KENZO Shinjuku109” on YouTube.Police said the former company executive, then 36, died around July 2025 shortly after the video was posted. His mother later filed a criminal complaint.Ikeda is alleged to have damaged the man’s reputation with a clip captioned: “Is he a massive M&A con man?”In the clip, he is heard saying: “There is an organisation behind this.” The clip was shared online that June.The channel, which has about one million subscribers, describes its content as one in which he confronts “malicious groups engaged in multilevel schemes as well as people such as swindlers”.The police said they have also arrested two men on suspicion of attempted blackmail in connection with the case.The pair allegedly demanded the former company executive pay 3 billion yen (S$24.4 million) in cash, saying the YouTuber would post a video accusing him of misconduct if he did not do so.The police are investigating links between Ikeda and the two men. KYODO NEWS