Japanese Twitch streamer reveals the problem with IRL streaming in Tokyo

Japanese Twitch star SAKURA Senpai explained some of the issues streamers face while trying to do IRL broadcasts in Japan.

While discussing visiting a ramen restaurant for content, Senpai suggested that she didn’t think IRL streamers have a “great future” in Japan and Tokyo – especially for those who live in the country.

“I’m Japanese. For other streamers, foreigners, livestreaming people, that is okay,” she said.

According to the streamer, foreigners who are visiting Japan have different expectations as tourists than people who already there and are used to obeying these unwritten streaming rules.

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“Japanese people are really angry at live-streaming suddenly,” she added.

The example she gave was that if she just brought a camera into a shop, employees and patrons would be angry at her.

“Japan is like that,” the streamer sighed. She then recalled how the government in Tokyo was talking about potentially banning livestreaming in public.

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While the government didn’t ban IRL broadcasts, it’s still frowned upon and a lot of places simply won’t allow it.

“Many, many places say ‘no camera’,” she revealed. “When I’m streaming outside, you guys saw that.”

As it turned out, in the past, SAKURA had been asked to leave places when attempting to broadcast. “If it’s live-streaming, it’s going to happen. But if it’s YouTube, I can ask in advance ‘can I bring my camera?’”

So, while IRL broadcasting Japan on Twitch may be difficult for many Japanese people, they’re more likely to create content specifically for YouTube or other video platforms.

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It’s certainly interesting to think about how this affects content for Japanese entertainers such as SAKURA. However, as she said, for non-locals visiting the country, it seems like they’re free to livestream as they please.

So far, Senpai isn’t doing too bad for herself in 2020 having just passed the 15,000 follower mark on Twitch. Hopefully for her, the rest of the year can maintain this growth – even without IRL streams.