Logan Paul 'suicide forest' video: Japanese Police want to speak to vlogger over dead body film

Alexandra Richards4 January 2018

Japanese Police want to speak to a Youtube Vlogger who posted a video showing a dead body in the country’s notorious “suicide forest”.

Logan Paul, who runs the YouTube channel called The Official Logan Paul, posted a video on December 31 of his visit to the Aokigahara Forest, located on the north western side of Mt. Fuji.

The video featured a dead body of a man who had committed suicide.

Masaki Ito, a spokesperson for the Yamanashi prefectural police said they wish to speak to Mr Paul about the incident.

He said that there is no legal obligation to report a body, but the Police still wished to speak to Mr Paul as they believed “suicide may be involved”.

Local police, who cover the Aokigahara forest area, declined to comment when asked by Associated Press.

In the video, which has since been deleted, Mr Paul was seen laughing and joking with friends when he discovered the body.

He received a huge amount of backlash on Social Media for the video.

Mr Paul apologised and said that he posted it in order to “raise awareness of suicide and suicide prevention.”

But the initial statement was criticised by many, including Game Of Thrones actress Sophie Turner, who wrote: "@LoganPaul You're an idiot. You're not raising awareness. You're mocking. I can't believe how self-praising your 'apology' is. You don't deserve the success (views) you have. I pray to God you never have to experience anything like that man did."

In a youtube video Mr Paul issued a second apology, he said: “I've made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment and I don't expect to be forgiven. I'm simply here to apologise.

"I've made a huge mistake. I don't expect to be forgiven... I'm ashamed of myself. I am disappointed."

He told fans that the reactions seen in the video were “raw and unfiltered”.

Mr Logan also apologised to the family of the person in the video and asked his fans not to defend his actions.

YouTube condemned graphic and disrespectful content on its platform.

The Google-owned video site said Paul's video violated its policies, but has not responded to calls from angry parents and celebrities to suspend the US-based star from the site.

"Our hearts go out to the family of the person featured in the video," a YouTube spokeswoman said.

"YouTube prohibits violent or gory content posted in a shocking, sensational or disrespectful manner. If a video is graphic, it can only remain on the site when supported by appropriate educational or documentary information and in some cases it will be age-gated.

"We partner with safety groups such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to provide educational resources that are incorporated in our YouTube Safety Centre."

"Our hearts go out to the family of the person featured in the video," a YouTube spokeswoman said.

The Standard has contacted Mr Paul for further comment.

If you have been affected by this article you can call Samaritans: 116 123 for support.

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