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The story
Pianist Hayato Sumino (31), who performs on YouTube under the name “Cateen” and has over 1.5 million subscribers, posted on social media joking about fellow pianist Kyohei Sorita’s “144 km/h” speeding incident — only to delete the post and apologize after facing backlash. On 5channel, opinions split between those who saw it as harmless banter between acquaintances, since the traffic violation had no victims, and those who felt it was inappropriate for a public post. Many comments also compared the two pianists’ careers, including their results at the Chopin International Piano Competition.
Oct 10, 2026, 13:46
Pianist Hayato Sumino (Cateen) Deletes Social Media Post, Apologizes
Pianist Hayato Sumino (31), who performs on YouTube under the name “Cateen” and has over 1.5 million subscribers, drew criticism over a post on X (formerly Twitter) and ended up apologizing.
Source: zakzak.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Can't help but chuckle (´・ω・`)
Bakushou Mondai or Knights would jump on it instantly
So dumb
"Cateen" is his stage name
"Hayato" is his real given name
Starting his own controversy just to make news for Sorita's sake
That's kinda sweet, actually
Not knowing pianist Hayato Sumino (31, YouTube name: Cateen), who has over 1.5 million subscribers, is honestly pretty bad
Nah, there are plenty of people who genuinely don't know him lol. Even if you're online, it's not like everyone knows every YouTuber
And if someone barely uses the internet, I bet tons of people have never heard of him (´・ω・`)
1.5 million is impressive, but it's not "you're bad if you don't know him" territory
Even at 15 million there'd still be people who don't know him, same at 150 million
If he had, say, 1.5 billion subscribers, THEN not knowing him would be a problem
It even got aired as an NHK program.
The audience who showed up in good faith really got the short end of the stick.
Someone needs to properly call this out. Make Sorita reflect and actually apologize for it.
Doesn't have to be Cateen who does it.
So that's probably just their usual banter
But it's not appropriate for a public post
Basically Harami-chan and Kono Gendo averaged together
it's Hayato Sumino (すみの はやと,
Though if their relationship means scandals are supposed to be off-limits, I get why the speeding guy's fans would be furious
Sounds like a fanbase similar to Fujii Kaze's
Poor guy
Did they get pushed out once serious pros like this joined YouTube?
That's reading way too much into it lol
But I wouldn't be surprised if elderly Japanese folks who aren't into soccer still don't know him (´・ω・`)
Background and Key Points of the Debate
The Chopin International Piano Competition is regarded as one of the world’s foremost piano competitions, and Kyohei Sorita is known for placing second there — the highest ranking ever achieved by a Japanese pianist. Hayato Sumino, meanwhile, has built his profile largely through YouTube, and many comments in the thread compared the two men’s contrasting career paths. Worth noting: the real point of contention here isn’t whether speeding itself is acceptable, but whether it was appropriate to publicly joke about an acquaintance’s scandal — a case of banter going too far. Opinions differ on where to draw the line between private joking among friends and a public post, so reading this purely as “outrage over bad taste” misses the point. It’s also easy to overlook that what Sumino actually apologized for wasn’t the speeding incident itself, but the wording of the post mocking it.
*This article excerpts and summarizes the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Pianist] Hayato Sumino (Cateen) apologizes over inappropriate post — joked too far about Kyohei Sorita’s “144 km/h” speeding incident [Ailuropoda melanoleuca★].”
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