Police step in after angry man confronts streamer for filming in Japan

Michael Gwilliam

IRL Twitch streamer ‘robcdee’ was confronted by a livid bystander while riding a bike through the streets of Tokyo and filming his daily activities.

During an October 2 broadcast, the popular Australian streamer, who has been documenting his life in Japan for two years, was confronted by man who claimed it was “illegal” to be filming in the country.

“Don’t put the f**king camera on my face!” the man shouted as Rob and a friend rode past. “Did you know I could call the cops on you for shooting that f**king video?”

While the mere mention of calling the police may be a huge red flag for some, Rob wasn’t about to have any of the man’s threats and even seemed to welcome the idea.

“You want to call the cops? Let’s do it!” the eager streamer replied.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” the man, who was still off-screen asked. “This is f**king illegal in Japan! You can’t shoot no video without [someone’s] permission.”

Rob chimed in that filming outside was perfectly fine, which just irritated the man even more who continued to shout profanity.

“What do you mean f**king [filming] outside is okay? It’s not okay!” the upset man continued.

Eventually, the loud confrontation resulted in both men agreeing to go and speak with the police to settle the dispute once and for all.

From here, the group went down to talk to law enforcement, and everyone started conversing in Japanese with English no longer being spoken.

Tokyo police stop a fight between men in Japan
The police did a good job defusing the situation.

After a long, drawn-out discussion, eventually, Rob was able to go and explained what the verdict was.

“So basically, he’s wrong. What we’re doing isn’t illegal. What we’re doing is fine,” Rob said. “He was saying what we were doing outside is illegal, which is not true, obviously, because we went to the cops.”

According to Rob, the police said it’s better to not film in that area because people are sensitive about cameras. “Obviously, because they’re scamming, right?” he laughed.

That said, as long as Rob wasn’t focusing the camera on the man and deliberately filming without his permission, he was in the right.

If you ever decide to visit Tokyo, this is something important to keep in mind – especially if you plan to videotape your adventures in one of the world’s most popular cities.

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About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam