American livestreamer Ismael Ramsey Khalid, 24, has been found guilty of forcible obstruction of a business for broadcasting loud music from his phone and "causing a nuisance" at a local restaurant in Osaka, Japan. He was subsequently sentenced to pay a fine of ¥200,000, around $1380 USD.
Khalid, who goes by "Johnny Somali" online, gained notoriety across Japan after filming himself harassing locals, trespassing, and performing other stunts for his viewers. He had been arrested in Japan multiple times, including on suspicion of trespassing onto a construction site, however, prosecutors only went ahead and punished him for the obstruction charge.
According to Yahoo! Japan, on Wednesday the Osaka District Court ruled that Khalid had acted in a way that constituted forcible obstruction of a business.
"The manner of the crime was malicious, as the video was recorded inside the restaurant where other customers were eating and drinking, and music was played at a high volume," the court argued. "However, the volume could have been lowered immediately, and there is no change in the fact that the defendant was interfering with business operations."
During his first hearing in December, Khalid's lawyer admitted that he had committed a crime, but disputed claims that he had intentionally let the loud music continue, pointing out that the sounds were produced by his livestream viewers, not him.
It has since been revealed that Khalid likely made money each time a viewer was allowed to broadcast their sound of choice on his stream, and thus had no incentive to turn down the volume, which prosecutors said he could have easily done.
Prosecutors deemed Khalid's actions to be "a selfish crime to satisfy a desire for self-approval."
The streamer eventually apologized, vowing to "no longer record or distribute videos of any kind in the future."
Many expected Khalid to be banned from Japan, however, while that was not part of the sentence, it will be rather difficult for him to return after likely being deported for overstaying his visa.
Khalid, who goes by "Johnny Somali" online, gained notoriety across Japan after filming himself harassing locals, trespassing, and performing other stunts for his viewers. He had been arrested in Japan multiple times, including on suspicion of trespassing onto a construction site, however, prosecutors only went ahead and punished him for the obstruction charge.
According to Yahoo! Japan, on Wednesday the Osaka District Court ruled that Khalid had acted in a way that constituted forcible obstruction of a business.
"The manner of the crime was malicious, as the video was recorded inside the restaurant where other customers were eating and drinking, and music was played at a high volume," the court argued. "However, the volume could have been lowered immediately, and there is no change in the fact that the defendant was interfering with business operations."
During his first hearing in December, Khalid's lawyer admitted that he had committed a crime, but disputed claims that he had intentionally let the loud music continue, pointing out that the sounds were produced by his livestream viewers, not him.
It has since been revealed that Khalid likely made money each time a viewer was allowed to broadcast their sound of choice on his stream, and thus had no incentive to turn down the volume, which prosecutors said he could have easily done.
Prosecutors deemed Khalid's actions to be "a selfish crime to satisfy a desire for self-approval."
The streamer eventually apologized, vowing to "no longer record or distribute videos of any kind in the future."
Many expected Khalid to be banned from Japan, however, while that was not part of the sentence, it will be rather difficult for him to return after likely being deported for overstaying his visa.
"As a tourist his visa expired some time ago and being kicked out of Japan may or may not be in the form of a formal deportation order," Kanda University of International Studies special lecturer Jeffrey Hall explained in a post on X. "He lacks 'strong ties' to Japan or a working visa that would qualify him to stay in Japan after being found guilty of such an offense."
"If he ever tries to re-enter Japan," Hall added, "he'd have to check the box on his entry form admitting he committed a criminal offense. The rules about entry bans for people who aren't sentenced to jail time aren't so strict, but it seems unlikely they'll let him back in very soon."
