Japanese police want to question Logan Paul, the disgraced YouTube star who posted a video that appeared to show a dead body in Japan‘s “suicide forest.”
On Monday, the 22-year-old Paul posted a video, “We found a dead body in the Japanese Suicide Forest.” The video, which has since been taken off YouTube, caused an Internet firestorm for appearing to show a body handing from a noose in the Aokigahara forest. Paul has since posted two apologies, following a first that was widely criticized because he mentioned himself 26 times.
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Masaki Ito, a spokesman for the Yamanashi prefectural police, told The Sun that people don’t have to report seeing a body. However, they still want to talk to him because of the possible suicide involved.
YouTube responded to the controversy, as Paul is one of its biggest stars. He has over 15 million subscribers and his apology video has been seen over 26 million times.
“Our hearts go out to the family of the person featured in the video,” YouTube said, adding that it “prohibits violent or gory content posted in a shocking, sensational or disrespectful manner.”
“If a video is graphic, it can only remain on the site when supported by appropriate educational or documentary information and in some cases it will be age-gated,” the statement continued.
Paul made the video while vacationing in Japan. Paul and his team filmed themselves in the Aokigahara forest, a forest near Mount Fiji where hundreds have committed suicide.
According to a government study, 21,897 people took their own lives in Japan in 2016, reports the Japan Times.
Photo credit: YouTube / Logan Paul
