Japanese entrepreneur and commentator Hiroyuki (ひろゆき), born Hiroyuki Nishimura, waded into a growing controversy over so-called “family vlogger” YouTube channels on November 1, 2026, arguing that children featured in such videos are effectively being subjected to child labor.
Responding on X to a report about a wave of monetization suspensions hitting family-style YouTube channels, Hiroyuki wrote that children “find it hard to defy their parents,” making their appearances in videos amount to “child labor in the name of video production, at their parents’ command.” He added that it is “a natural development” for platforms like YouTube to try to prevent child labor by cracking down on such content.
He did not stop there. In a sharply worded follow-up post, Hiroyuki wrote that Japanese society has “degraded to the point where parents feel no shame eating unagi (eel, a pricey delicacy) with money their children earned,” taking aim at parents he suggests are living comfortably off their kids’ video earnings.
The comments come as several family-oriented YouTube channels featuring children have reportedly had their monetization suspended. According to the report Hiroyuki was reacting to, at least one channel deleted around 2,200 videos and reapplied for monetization, only to remain unapproved.
Who is Hiroyuki?
Hiroyuki, whose real name is Hiroyuki Nishimura, is one of Japan’s best-known internet entrepreneurs, famous as the founder of the massive anonymous forum 2channel (now split into 2channel and 5channel) and for his early involvement with the U.S. imageboard 4chan. He has since become a prolific media commentator, known for a blunt, debate-ready style across TV panels, YouTube, and social media, frequently weighing in on social issues and internet culture with provocative one-liners.
Author’s Comment
I don’t even need to name names here, and neither did Hiroyuki, because the point is bigger than any one family channel. Japan built an entire cottage industry out of cute kids melting down over cereal on camera, and now the bill is coming due: ad money dries up the moment a platform remembers these are actual children, not content. That eel line is the real gut-punch though — nothing sums up "living large off your toddler’s ad revenue" quite like treating yourself to a luxury meal on their dime. For once, the internet’s most reliable provocateur and basic human decency landed on the same side.
