U.S. livestreamer fined for playing loud music in Osaka restaurant

A Japanese court on Wednesday fined an American livestreamer ¥200,000 ($1,400) for playing loud music at a fast food restaurant in Osaka and obstructing its operations.

During his trial at the Osaka District Court, Ramsey Khalid Ismael admitted to creating a video there but said he had not played the music deliberately and that the audio had started automatically.

Ismael, 24, known as “Johnny Somali” on YouTube, has faced criticism for his videos, in which he makes light of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and makes racist comments about Japanese people.

Judge Yukie Yasufuku said that the defendant could have immediately lowered the volume but chose not to, describing his actions as “malicious.”

According to the ruling, Ismael interfered with the restaurant staff’s work by playing loud music and creating disturbances as he recorded videos on his smartphone in the early morning of Sept. 12 last year.