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Hi, this is Hikosaemon here
Today, I'm going to go off the topic I was planning to do for a blog
So, to start explaining why this is
Within this young Japan community we have here
That's only really existed within YouTube since about 2006
This community is generally made up of lots of young people
And it's true that the vast majority of video bloggers within Japan
What stands out are people here from overseas travelling
Who record blogs as a kind of diary of their adventures here
They can shoot videos for their friends and families
So they can show people overseas the "real Japan"
Everyone tries through the vids they make to communicate the Japan they know and love
In the beginning, this started from a handful of a dozen or so regular vloggers
Now there are hundreds of such people making videos
I'm one of them
But this all grew out of the small community that existed early on
One of the ways I first become aware of this community
Was through discovering the vids of Rodger Swan who arrived in Japan in 2007
He made his own video diary of his times here
His perspective was truly fresh, he started vlogging about Japan almost from the day he arrived
In contrast, I was looking at his vids as someone who had already been here 10 years
But watching his vids took me back and made me think "Ah, I used to find that funny" and "Ahh, I rememember feeling that"
Through his videos, they helped me to remember how I felt when I arrived
It was fun for me to watch
At that time I was just starting to play around with making vids
When he first started out, there would have only been around a dozen or so regular Japan vloggers
In his 2008 Hanami vid, I suddenly realized "oh, there is this kind of community here"
Through him, I basically first become aware of other vloggers in Japan
I mean, I had founda couple of vloggers before then, but this is the first time I found out about the coherent community here
It was through his video
So I guess that in terms of describing Rodger as a person
I think in many ways, he was a kind of ideal exchange student from a Japanese perspective
He was a diligent kind of guy, with great respect for Japanese culture
He had a genuine love for Japan
For example, he made reviews of Japanese horror films
He posted these on the Net and gained a following among people overseas interested in Japanese film
As someone interested in and knowledgable about Japanese culture
He would show people overseas the culture he knew
And show what everyday life in Japan is like
All as soeone who loves Japan, showing people overseas a simple honest view of his life here
I often get asked "what do foreigners think about Japan?"
If you are interested in that, I really think you should check videos lik ehis
By watching the vlogs of foreigners in Japan
You get to look at Japan through the eyes of people like Rodger
You get to view your own country through knew eyes, which I think is a good refreshing view to have
You'll understand if you watch
And if you find find channels you enjoy
I recommend subscribing to them and watching their updates
So looking at the journey that Rodger made through his videos
I only discovered him in 2008 actually
It seems that he came to Japan originally in 2007 as an international student at Keio University
He seems to be quite smart
And he started uploading videos about his life as an international student
At first, he seemed luck such a nice guy, I thought "is this guy a Mormon or something?!"
That was my first impression of him
I later found out that wasn't the case
His videos gave off an aura of a slightly nervous sincere guy
And through his videos he grew and became more at home in Japan
Gradually coming to understand Japan better
And so two years passed
He returned to America, and then came back recently as an assistant English teacher
He worked at a school in Iwate Prefecture
And there, on Jan 25th he uploaded his most recent video
In that video he is walking around showing the snow and the town he is in
And making small-talk about his life, and his thoughts of his family back in America
And how his girlfriend's parents had sent him christmas presents
And he was looking for an envelope to send a thank you card back to them
So in what was really a video about not much in particular, walking and talking
Talking about little funny things that had happened
He showed how he is always thinking of others, and being someone who shows off Japan in the best light
You quickly form a strong sense of the type of guy he is from his videos
And so I decided myself that I wanted to do vids like him in my own way, as a 10 year veteran
And show off the best bits of my own life here in a similar way to him
That's how he had an influence on me, and from the moment I started making vids
It wasn't just me, but he has a similar impact on hundreds of other vloggers in a similar way
He is seen as one of the giants, a kind of senpai to later Japan vloggers
Even though he was just a young fella at 23
I mean, I never actually met the guy. I just quietly followed his vids from the very beginning
As someone I really respected
So the reason for this video is that on the day after his last video on January 25th
Where he was his normal chatty young 23 year old self
It turns out that he passed away without warning the following day of sudden accute pancreaitis.
This has really come as a terrible shock to everyone
You can see how he was loved and respected just in all the video tributes being posted by other vloggers right now
In blogs and through various othe rmeans
I thikn he really was someone with great promise, as someone for the future of relations between Japan and the rest of the world
As someone loved by many, and who genuinely loved Japan
It's really trully sad to have lost him
The treasure of his life in Japan still lives on in his videos
If you check his vids, especially even just his very last vid
I think you'll understand right away what kind of a nice guy he was
Many people are doing their own things to remember him, among them many people who directly knew him
Because of this, I thought I would wait a bit before doing anything myself
But even for those who had never met him, there are hundreds like me who have been profoundly influenced by what he did
And who have sincere respect for him
And for Japanese people, the reason I am making this video is that
I really want Japanese people to know that there are lots of people here in Japan like this guy
And I really want people to know about who this guy was and a bit of what he was like
People are all chosing to remember him in their own way
Through videos, messages and so on
I have his last video playing on my main channel page right now
One idea that came up was to get as many people as possible together
And send a message to his family and loved ones of how much he was respected, by having others watch his videos and subscribe to his channel
We really want as many people as possible to find out about him
And to have people subscribe, and through the number of subscribers
My thoughts go out to his family, to have lost a son so young of a sudden illness while overseas
It is just impossible to imagine how tough that is
Right to his final vid, he was thinking and talking of his loved ones
It makes you thin, about how you need to live each day to the fullest
For now, I'd really like anyone who sees this video to click on the links below
And please go and check out his videos
If you watch it and think that this was a guy worthy of respect, please subscribe to his channel
I think it is a nice way to send the message to his family of how respected he was
So it would be great if you could do that
My thoughts go out to his family
And may he rest in peace
I realise this is a bit of a dark topic, but he really was a great guy
I really hope more people like him discover Japan and come here
He will live on in our memory of him, and the influence of his videos on us
So please go check out his channel and if you like, please subscribe to it.