YouTube star apologises after posting video of suicide victim’s dead body in Japanese forest

A prominent YouTuber has apologised after he provoked outrage by posting a video showing the dead body of an apparent suicide victim.

Logan Paul posted a clip on his YouTube channel called ‘We found a dead body in the Japanese Suicide Forest’, which quickly racked up millions of views.

In the video, Paul is seen wandering the Aokigahara forest at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan with pals before stumbling upon the dead body hanging from a tree.

A shocked Paul says to the camera: “I really hate to say this, I think there’s someone hanging right there.”

After investigating the scene, various shots show the man’s purple hands and his bag nearby before a member of the group says that he “doesn’t feel good”.

Paul then says: ”What, you never stand next to a dead guy?”, before laughing.

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The 22-year-old YouTube star, who has 15 million subscribers, has now apologised after he pulled video from the site.

In a lengthy apology, he wrote that he “didn’t do it for the views”, adding: “I did it because I thought I could make a positive ripple on the internet, not cause a monsoon of negativity…

“I intended to raise awareness for suicide and suicide prevention and while I thought ‘if this video saves just ONE life, it’ll be worth it,’ I was misguided by shock and awe, as portrayed in the video.”

He added: “One may understand that it’s easy to get caught up in the moment without fully weighing the possible ramifications.”

Despite his apology, Paul was criticised by commenters, who described his actions as “disgusting”:

Aokigahara is widely known as a destination for young people who want to kill themselves, while Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the developed world.

The identity of the man in the video, whose face was blurred out, is not known.

YouTuber Philip DeFranco claims he was sent an official statement from a contact at the video site, saying they “prohibit violent or gory content posted in a shocking, sensationalist or disrespectful manner”.

Yahoo News UK has contacted YouTube for a comment.

For confidential emotional support, contact The Samaritans on 116 123 for free at any time, or email jo@samaritans.org.