A YouTuber with 2.4 million subscribers yesterday apologized after a video of him and three others free-riding around Japan became the latest example of fame-seeking foreigners riling locals.
The YouTuber known by the username Fidias posted a video over the weekend of the four riding trains and buses around Japan — in some cases without paying.
In the video, Fidias hides in a toilet of a bullet train, pretends to be ill when confronted by a ticket collector, and then escapes to board another train where he pulls the same trick.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Another clip shows him entering a hotel and pretending to be a guest to get free breakfast.
“I just [got] access to a five-star Japanese buffet. And we’re leaving the hotel without getting caught and without any problem,” he triumphantly tells the camera.
Other parts of the video show the four, one of whom appears to be the YouTuber Night Scape who has 1.7 million followers, begging money from locals to pay for tickets.
It was unclear when the footage was shot or whether the three men and one woman were still in Japan.
“Another strange, annoying YouTuber from abroad emerged. In addition to this guy Fidias, the three others should be arrested,” one social media user said in Japanese.
“Surprisingly, comments section to his [online post] is full of applause. [Police] should arrest him to prevent copycat crimes from happening,” another social media user said.
Regional train operator JR Kyushu said it was studying the footage before deciding whether to inform the police.
“We are aware of the case and investigating facts around it,” a spokesman said.
Fidias posted an apology on his channel, saying: “Hello beautiful people i apologize to the Japanese people if we made them feel bad that was not our goal! from now on i am going to be make more research to the cultures we go to and try to prevent this from happening again.”
The incident came a month after Japanese police arrested a US livestreamer known as Johnny Somali for allegedly trespassing into a construction site.
According to video footage, Ismael Ramsey Khalid, 23, wore a mask and repeatedly shouted “Fukushima” to construction workers who urged him to leave the site, police officer Genta Hayashi said, referring to the stricken nuclear power plant.
Another clip shows Khalid, who describes himself as a former child soldier, harassing train passengers with references to the US atomic bombings of Japan in 1945.
Khalid has only 12,500 followers on YouTube and 10,800 on another platform known as Kick, where his account is marked “offline.”
His Twitch account was reportedly taken down.
In 2017, US YouTuber Logan Paul attracted controversy with a video he posted of a dead body in a Japanese “suicide forest” that drew 6 million views before being taken down.
Incidents of foreigners behaving badly, including by drinking in public and littering, are a regular cause of annoyance in largely law-abiding Japan, not least on Mount Fuji.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
RSS