Before coming here and since moving to Tokyo I have watched hundreds of YouTube videos by vloggers who basically walk around filming sights and sounds. Some talk while doing it, others have no dialogue and some livestream. I’ve always enjoyed watching them and some of them are VERY popular. I really enjoy the ones that go into the history of places. They are extremely popular with tourists planning to come to Japan and people who plan to move here and want to check out various neighborhoods before they get here.
Now that I’m living here I thought this could be a fun, rewarding thing to do. (I understand there’s a lot of work involved!) When I mentioned this to someone they immediately shot it down saying it was illegal to show other people in videos and post them to YouTube. Yet all of the videos I watch always show people walking by, in the background, milling about, etc and they aren’t edited out or blurred out. Obviously, if you’re walking around Tokyo there’s gonna be other people everywhere!
So…how do all these sightseeing type vloggers get away with this, if true? I certainly don’t want to get arrested or in trouble for it.
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Is it actually illegal if it’s shot in a public space? I’ve shot footage right in front of the police before and they didn’t say anything 🤷
Its only a problem if someone kicks up a fuss.
I don’t think it’s illegal? I think in Japanese culture it’s a common courtesy to blur other people in your photos and videos but I don’t think it’s illegal
If you only walk in places where there are lots of people wearing masks then the problem solves itself
They get away with it because they don’t care about strangers’ privacy. Also, however, unless you’re making trouble for someone and that person complains you will likely not face any legal trouble.
It’s not “illegal” to film in public but if one of the people you filmed doesn’t like that they were filmed, they can sue you and have a very likely chance of winning. Defamation laws in Japan are really strict and a person could claim you filmed them out with someone other than their husband/wife or they were wearing something not “work appropriate”, etc. So that’s why they always blur their faces on TV.
So yes, you can do it. But be prepared for a lawsuit if someone doesn’t like it.
Edit: I should note, filming can’t get you in any trouble, but posting it on social media without their consent can.
>Now that I’m living here I thought this could be a fun, rewarding thing to do. (I understand there’s a lot of work involved!)
For future reference for you – posting anything youtube/vlog/etc. related to the sub, either someone else’s content or your own will get you banned post haste. It’s an oversaturated market though and not something you can make any money at – it’s something you should approach for fun and letting your friends/family back home know what you’re doing.
>When I mentioned this to someone they immediately shot it down saying it was illegal to show other people in videos and post them to YouTube.
Technically speaking… Japan has different privacy rights than you might be used to. Your personal image is protected even in areas you would not expect to have privacy in. That being said if you happen to be standing next to a big shrine and someone is taking a picture with you in it there is generally not a problem. Where the problem comes about is taking pictures OF PEOPLE. If the person gets their undies in a bunch the police will come and help you delete all the photos/videos on your device of choice (3-4 years ago I watched a poor girl and her boyfriend in tears because she had been taking pictures of a group waiting to get into a club – a group that didn’t want their pictures taken – a group who basically stopped them until the police arrived who deleted all her vacation pictures). So just walking down the street recording yourself talking – probably not going to cause a problem. Recording someone else walking down the street? Probably a problem. Making money (ie trying to monetize your content or twitch stream it) – potentially BIG FUCKING PROBLEM – that’s a major no no and could very well get you sued. You’ll notice all the media etc. blur almost everyone’s face, there’s a reason for that.
>Yet all of the videos I watch always show people walking by, in the background, milling about, etc and they aren’t edited out or blurred out. Obviously, if you’re walking around Tokyo there’s gonna be other people everywhere!
To be safe they should be. Those people are basically playing roulette with the fact the average Japanese person doesn’t know or care about jvbloggers/streamers.
If you enjoy living here, don’t treat locals like zoo animals.
Privacy laws in Japan have become more strict in recent years as a result of people posting images or videos of others in order to harass or embarrass them. You can’t post someone’s image online without their permission. You also can’t post images of cars or other vehicles online with the license plate numbers visible. You can get away with it as long as no one complains but if someone does complain you might get a visit from the police if they can trace it back to you.
Does anyone have any examples of someone being successfully sued as a result of them publishing content online with a stranger in the background? Genuinely curious as to whether or not it happens.
Please, no, fuck off. No one wants to be filmed by a sweaty vlogger to be seen by their sweaty ugly watchers
One of the people whose vlogs I watch blurs faces when they’re particularly close and visible, whereas the other doesn’t at all. These two are both native Japanese, as an aside. I don’t know why some folk here are so salty about people who make money from making videos about Japan. I think you should do it and have fun! Ideally, you could walk at quieter times and just turn the camera to look at something else if you see someone approaching.
These are the worst kind of JVlogs. Please don’t.
Those videos can be interesting, but really, most of them are unnecessary. It’s basically a verbal wank. Somebody thinks their ideas are so important and everyone wants to listen to them. Unfortunately, they get a few viewers, and that reinforces their idea. You can get kind of egotistical doing this kind of crap. You literally think that people want to know about your every move, that it’s so important, and that you’re the one who knows everything.
The fact is there are probably tons of people on those videos that don’t want themselves broadcast around the world and archived forever on the internet. Most people in the background don’t know they’re being recorded, or if they do, a lot of them probably think it’s just between friends, not for YouTube.
Switch it around, and imagine some Japanese guy walking around your neighbourhood in whatever country you’re from, and he’s going on about how this store is for this, and that building is seedy, and that park over there is cool, and blah blah blah, meanwhile with regular people in the background. Then he’s puts it on YouTube and other Japanese are checking it out and making comments about the people and places, not always positive.
Instead of worrying about whether you can get away with it or not, think about what it means to the people in the background and how it affects them.
I’m pretty sure many people who do that have a “rig” of some kind, where they have their camera/phone strapped into a vest or something. They’ll have a small and inconspicuous mic if they want, and possibly batteries and other equipment in their backpack.