UPDATE: YouTube is addressing Logan Paul's controversial video from the "Japanese Suicide Forest." In an open letter on Twitter, the platform expressed their disapproval of the video that was removed one day after it was posted.
"Many of you have been frustrated with our lack of communication recently. You're right to be. You deserve to know what's going on. Like many others, we were upset by the video that was shared last week," the statement read. "Suicide is not a joke, nor should it ever be a driving force for views. As Anna Akana put it perfectly: 'That body was a person someone loved. You do not walk into a suicide forest with a camera and claim mental health awareness.' We expect more of the creators who build their community on @YouTube, as we're sure you do too. The channel violated our community guidelines, we acted accordingly, and we are looking at further consequences."
The letter concluded, "It's taken us a long time to respond, but we've been listening to everything you've been saying. We know that the actions of one creator can affect the entire community, so we'll have more to share soon on steps we're taking to ensure a video like this is never circulated again."
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While YouTube vlogger Logan Paul's video of a suicide victim was the most shocking part of his trip to Japan, it wasn't the only shocking part.
The popular 22-year-old had recently posted footage showing him and friends laughing uncomfortably as they come across a dead body hanging on a tree in Japan's Aokigahara forest, known for its high number of suicides. He deleted the clip on Monday amid a social media backlash and apologized in a new video for his "severe and continuous lapse" in judgment. On Wednesday, he tweeted, "Taking time to reflect...no vlog for now...see you soon."
In the days leading up to his controversial video, Paul shared others showing him getting into many hijinks in Japan. While he does meet a lot of fans, he also acts disrespectfully at times in an attempt to be funny.
He is seen throwing a toy Poké Ball at people and a moving car while wearing a Pikachu onesie and then running through an electronics store, dancing with a male friend in the street while wearing a kimono and conical hat they obtained from a clothing stand, yelling the URL of his online store at the top of his lungs on a busy street and sticking a dead fish and raw squid leg he bought in the faces of strangers and against a store window,
"I should have never disrespected the merch like that," he jokes.
He also buys a used Game Boy Color and yells and smashes it on the floor of the shop after it doesn't work. He is then told it is a "pocket model" and proceeds to throw it again, this time on the street.
The videos have been watched more than 21 million times. They have been liked more than 858,000 times and disliked more than 235,000 times.
"You took advantage of polite and tolerant Japanese people and made fun of them," one YouTube commentator wrote. "You are not welcome in Japan. Never come to Japan again."
"Should be banished from ever visiting Japan," another person said. "I'm so f--king embarrassed cause of this idiot. He acts like a 5 year old. No respect."
(Originally published on Friday, January 5, 2018 at 1:12 p.m. PST)