Female streamers fear IRL streaming after Japanese creator stabbed to death in Tokyo
YouTube/ ANNnewsCHFemale streamers are expressing fear about IRL (in-real-life) streaming after a Japanese content creator was stabbed to death on a live broadcast, in broad daylight in Tokyo.
On March 11, Japanese WhoWatch streamer Airi Sato, who also went by the alias ‘Ai Mogami’ was stabbed multiple times by an older man.
The suspect, identified as 42-year-old Kenichi Takano, reportedly told police that he had lent Sato over 2 million yen (approx. $13,500) for living and other expenses and “made up my mind to attack her as she wouldn’t give my money back.”
Sato suffered wounds to her head, neck, and abdomen. She was found unconscious before being rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
News of the stabbing sparked concern in the streaming community, with some female creators no longer feeling safe to go live IRL.
Female streamers warn against IRL streamer after fatal stabbing
Twitch star Meowko reacted to Sato’s death by revealing her own scary encounter that made her stop IRL streaming completely.
“A Japanese streamer got killed during streaming IRL today. My last stream from outside [had] some dude following me around [and I] had to go to police and that’s happened to me several times,” she said.
“This is [the] reason why I stopped IRL streaming and if you are IRL streamer, be careful.”
Fellow streamer celina_0801 said she’s reconsidering any sort of IRL content, too.
“Seeing this news after the Valkyrae and her friends’ incident really makes me want to reconsider doing IRL streams. You can be in one of the safest countries and still have this happen to you.”
The incident occurred just days after streamers Valkyrae and Cinna were attacked by a stream sniper.
“Another reason NOT to stream IRL,” stated true crime Vtuber FearSona.
“IRL Streaming is absolutely dangerous,” warned DJ and TikToker FreyaFox.
It wasn’t just female streamers who expressed concern with IRL streaming. YouTuber TheAnimeMan expressed shock and anger over the stabbing.
“Insane parasocialism is no f**king joke,” he exclaimed. “Even in a country that’s deemed to be incredibly safe, something like this can still happen.”
This isn’t the only dangerous encounter a streamer has faced in March. That same night Valkyrae was attacked, another popular creator, Amouranth, had her home invaded by armed robbers, but was saved when her husband shot one of them.
