That Japanese Man Yuta explains why YouTube needs to take a stand against Paul’s disrespectful Japan videos.

American vlogger Logan Paul recently drew criticism from people around the world after he and his crew filmed the hanging body of a man who had apparently committed suicide in Japan’s Aokigahara Forest. In the video, which he uploaded to his YouTube channel, Paul and his crew could be seen laughing and smiling after making the discovery, which angered viewers to such an extent that the video was taken down on January 1 and two apologies were issued the next day.

Despite his apologies, which many deemed to be insincere, the damage had already been done, with the backlash from his actions growing day by day. Still, people argued whether or not he should be forgiven for what he did, while some called for YouTube to take action and terminate his account.

Largely missing from the worldwide conversation about the incident were voices from the people of Japan, where Aokigahara is trying to re-establish itself as a sightseeing destination for nature lovers, rather than one of the most common spots for suicide in Japan.

After Paul uploaded several other videos from his Japan trip to his YouTube channel, a number of people in Japan have now decided to speak out, expressing their anger after finding out that his video from the Aokigahara forest was not the only disrespectful one to be recorded during his stay.

One of the country’s most well-known English-speaking Japanese vloggers, That Japanese Man Yuta, recently released a video giving us his perspective on Paul’s videos of Japan. His calm and eloquent account makes a number of very interesting points, giving us an insight into why Paul’s acts are deplorable not only in any country, but particularly in Japan.

Take a look at the video, titled “Logan Paul (Don’t be That Guy in Japan… or Anywhere Else)“, below:

In the clip, Yuta takes issue with the way Paul shows no respect during a scene filmed at Asakusa’s sacred Senso-ji temple, where he talks loudly, acts obnoxiously and rudely hurls coins into the offering box in front of praying visitors. To make matters worse, after getting kicked out of the temple by security, the Japanese guide accompanying Paul can be seen apologising profusely on Paul’s behalf, while Paul shows no sense of remorse or care for the guide or anyone around him.

Then, at Tsukiji Market, Paul and his friends can be seen jumping onto moving vehicles and provoking drivers, prompting Yuta to ask “What’s wrong with those people, really?” Here Yuta makes an important point, reminding everyone that the fish market is a place of business, and while visitors used to be able to walk around the market quite freely, they’ve recently had to make restrictions due to “the bad manners of tourists”.

▼ As Yuta says, “Think about what kind of things Logan contributes to the problem.”

Paul can then be seen saying how “Japanese people are so nice” and that they laugh along with him, and at him. This prompts Yuta to make one of the most frank and insightful statements in his entire video:

“I hate it when people say, ‘Oh Japanese people are so nice’ when they are actually just taking advantage of the non-confrontational nature of Japanese culture.
Just because somebody doesn’t yell at you and tell you to get lost, it doesn’t mean they like you.“

This non-confrontational nature of Japanese people is clearly evident in the next clip that Yuta talks about, where Paul and his friends throw a Poké Ball plush toy at a moving vehicle and then block a cyclist to throw the toy into the rider’s bicycle basket. Then, Paul even throws the soft toy at a policeman who can be seen questioning their Japanese guide, who is no doubt trying to apologise for Paul’s actions and stop him from getting arrested.

Despite his disgust at Paul’s actions, Yuta says that if Paul’s suicide forest video was an isolated incident he might be able to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the whole premise of his channel is about being obnoxious and provoking people in public, so Paul’s apologies mean nothing to him.

Showing his sincere feelings about Paul’s videos, Yuta makes some stern statements towards the end of the video, saying “YouTube is complicit…it’s like they’re sending a message saying you can be as anti-social as you want, as long as you don’t talk about politically sensitive topics.”

He then ends the clip by saying, “His behaviour is completely unacceptable in Japan and probably other countries. So it doesn’t matter if you are from Japan or somewhere else. Do not follow his example and do not support him.”

Source, images: YouTube/That Japanese Man Yuta