YouTuber Hikaru (35) has released a video showing himself, accompanied by a lawyer, directly confronting a user who allegedly reposted his membership-exclusive paid videos without permission. In the video, Hikaru states that “ordinary YouTube clips are fine, but reposting paid content is simply not okay,” and adds that he intends to seize the person’s bank account even if they are a welfare recipient. In response, a thread on 5channel’s Geinou/Sports News+ board saw a wave of comments that, while agreeing his stance against unauthorized reposting was reasonable, questioned whether the statement was actually feasible, since welfare benefits are legally protected from seizure.
September 4, 2026, 7:28 PM
YouTuber Hikaru (35) updated his official YouTube channel by September 4th, addressing the issue of his paid membership videos (¥490/month) being reposted without authorization.
The video, uploaded under the title “Raphael reposted my paid video without permission, so I brought a lawyer and went to confront him in person,” shows fellow YouTuber Raphael asking, “So clips themselves aren’t a problem, right?” to which Hikaru replies, “Ordinary YouTube clips are fine. But paid content is simply not okay.”
The guy who posted those movie recap shorts apparently got hit with 500 million yen in damages.
Re: #6
They just keep writing articles that are all about money, and people keep reading them, don't they.
22AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:25
Re: #8
Well, the thread title sounds so ominous, of course people are gonna click in just to see what's going on.
7AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:15
Isn't it from overseas — like Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong?
9AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:16
The textbook YouTuber that only idiots watch.
10AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:16
If they're on welfare, they won't really feel the damage anyway.
12AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:17
Don't go provoking a "muteki no hito" (a "person with nothing to lose" — internet slang for someone who might snap violently) too much. That's dangerous.
13AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:17
Well, reposting paid content is a no-go. But seizing a welfare recipient's bank account gets you nothing. Spoken like a true rich guy.
15AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:19
If you frame it as "Hikaru said this in his membership video, and here's what I think about it," you can drop spoilers legally without any issue.
16AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:19
Are there actually people who pay money just to watch this guy's videos?
19AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:21
A dispute between YouTubers?
21AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:24
Someone like that has probably reposted other people's stuff too, so go ahead and keep going after them — though results might not follow.
23AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:25
He got famous off a video exposing the trick behind festival stall (tekiya) lottery games, which even got picked up by TV (who knows if it was staged though).
He originally built his success by being seen as a "good guy" who won people's sympathy.
If he goes after illegal streamers of anime, dramas, and movies, he might win back more supporters.
But if it turns out to be staged again, this could really be the end for him.
24AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:28
If a welfare recipient is even signed up for Hikaru's paid content, that alone should be a problem lol
26AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:31
How much is a clip even worth as an asset in the first place? There's no way they'd actually do it.
28AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:34
I've seen Hikaru's tekiya scam-exposing video, but I don't watch his other stuff and wouldn't want my kids watching it either. Still, I think actions like this are really good — it could help clean up streaming and the internet in general. I've got high hopes.
31AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:36
This guy actually seems like he'd go through with it.
And he'd probably turn it into content again too.
41AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:43
Re: #31
That's unconstitutional and has zero legal basis — how would he even do it?
Kidnap and confine them or something?
36AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:38
Do people even still upload paid videos these days?
39AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:40
Re: #36
Isn't this about membership-exclusive videos?
If so, there are tons of those.
37AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:38
The mere fact that fools exist who actually pay for this guy's videos is enough to make you lose your mind.
40AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:42
There's probably someone out there who'll just post a text summary of what was in the video.
42AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:43
Wouldn't seizing a welfare recipient's bank account infringe on their right to subsistence, making it unconstitutional?
47AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:48
Re: #42
Even if Hikaru tries it, his own lawyer will stop him with a lawsuit — like "uh… you can't actually do that?" lol
43AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:44
You can't seize a welfare account, can you?
44AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:45
Is it even a video worth reposting in the first place lol
46AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:47
There's no way he can actually seize the account.
48AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:48
Didn't old-school Hikaru used to pull some pretty shady stuff himself?
49AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:49
If that were possible, organized crime could just put chronic debtors on welfare and leech off taxpayer money forever.
Why can't these people figure that out with even a little thought? 😨
51AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:51
I get the issue with unauthorized reposting, but jumping straight to welfare recipients is exactly why people don't like him.
53AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:52
Re: #1
Wait, don't people with income not qualify for welfare in the first place?
So is this fraud?
58AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:55
Re: #53
You can still receive benefits if your income doesn't reach the minimum standard.
You're allowed to work while on welfare,
and you can even get deductions applied.
60AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:57
Accounts registered under a welfare recipient's name get monitored by the local government office,
so any deposits end up getting confiscated by the authorities.
If they had YouTube revenue, it should already have been confiscated.
If there's regular income, welfare benefits get suspended.
62AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:59
I get where Hikaru's coming from, but seizing welfare benefits just isn't possible.
Too bad.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Welfare benefits are among the assets protected from seizure under Japan’s Public Assistance Act and Civil Execution Act, and even once such funds land in a bank account, seizure is effectively very difficult as long as their origin as welfare payments can be established. What split opinion in the thread wasn’t whether cracking down on unauthorized reposting was justified, but whether Hikaru’s claim that he’d “collect even from welfare recipients” is legally feasible at all. Many replies cited the fact that welfare benefits are protected from seizure to question the statement, while others expressed support for his hard line against unauthorized reposting itself. Notably, when a welfare recipient earns income, it is in principle deducted from or offset against their benefits — the thread didn’t dig deeply into how the system would actually treat someone who has enough income to afford a paid membership in the first place.
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