Japan Influencer Films 2-Year-Old Daughter Locked In Hot Car, Internet Reacts

A Japanese influencer stirred a debate online after he recorded his two-year-old daughter in a hot car to increase his social media traffic, as per a report in South China Morning Post. The uproar began on May 24 when the he and his wife, identified on YouTube as "raunano_family" with around 58,000 subscribers, posted a video titled "My Daughter Trapped in a Car Under the Burning Sun."

The father stated that he recorded the video when he went to pick up their son from kindergarten with his two girls. Notably, the mother was away. During the journey, he left Nanoka, aged two, in the car's backseat and shut the door. However, Nanoka accidentally locked herself inside the car when he was going to place the younger daughter on the other side of the rear seat. Instead of quickly seeking assistance, he began filming his child's emotions while yelling, "It's an emergency! Nanoka is locked in the car. The car is locked and she cannot get out!"

In the clip, the two-year-old was sweating and crying in the hot car as her father told her how to unlock the door. The father decided not to notify the police after recording the tape and called a locksmith who managed to rescue Nanoka.

According to the outlet, the child was left inside the car for almost half an hour. It is unknown whether the incident had any long-term effects on her health. The video was widely criticised online which prompted the couple to issue an apology. The influencer couple said that they were "very sorry for making a video that made everyone uncomfortable".

"Does the money you earn from risking your child's life make you feel good?" said a user. Another "The parents are crazy. I have encountered a similar situation, and at that time, my heart was broken and I was so nervous that I felt like I wasn't even alive. It's amazing that someone can stay so calm to record this on their phone," a user said.