Japanese YouTuber under fire for filming daughter trapped in locked car instead of getting help

Instead of immediately calling for help when his two-year-old daughter locked herself in the car, a Japanese YouTuber decided to film the girl.

The now-deleted video was uploaded to the couple's channel called Raunano_family on May 24, with the title: "My daughter trapped in a car under the burning sun."

According to the South China Morning Post, the dad had filmed the video when picking up his son from kindergarten with his two daughters. Their mother was not present at that time.

He had placed two-year-old Nanoka in the back seat and closed the door. But Nonoka accidentally locked the door just as the man was about to put her younger sister on the other side of the back seat.

The dad began recording the trapped girl, exclaiming: "It's an emergency! Nanoka is locked in the car. The car is locked and she cannot get out!"

In the video, the girl was seen sweating and crying as her father attempted in vain to teach her how to unlock the door, reported SCMP.

Subsequently, the man did not call the police, but rather a locksmith for help. Nanoka was reportedly locked in the hot car for over 30 minutes.

Netizens were outraged and slammed the father for filming the girl for video views.

"You should think about how it feels to be locked in a car in the hot sun and panicking while having a camera pointed at you," said one commentor.

In response to the online criticism, the couple posted a follow-up video on May 31, titled "Mum is furious", reported Japanese news outlets.

While the man stated they were "very sorry for making a video that made everyone uncomfortable", his wife rebutted netizens who asked why they did not call the police, sparking another wave of backlash. This video was later deleted.

The YouTubers apologised again in a second video on June 3 and said that they will be taking a break from posting. A month later, on Friday (July 5), they announced they will continue running the channel.

Leaving a child alone in a car during a hot day can be extremely dangerous as it puts them at risk of heat stroke, which can lead to brain or organ damage, and even death, according to the Seattle Children's Hospital's website.

The temperature inside a car can increase rapidly in a short period of time, and a child's body heats up three to five times faster than an adult's.

Most children who died from heat stroke after being left alone in a car were below three years of age, but it has happened to kids as old as 14.

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