A Japanese livestreamer who broadcasts under the handle Zokkun (ぞっくん) has been hospitalized after developing a fever and blood in his urine, which he says followed an outdoor livestream in which he rinsed his hair with floodwater during a torrential rainstorm in Chiba.
According to posts Zokkun shared on X, he had suffered a fever of around 38°C (100.4°F) for two days that would not break, and by the following day he was struggling to urinate. When he strained, blood appeared in his urine, prompting him to visit an emergency room. He said doctors told him the likely cause was a bacterial infection contracted during a flood-focused livestream in which he had been soaked in contaminated water, and confirmed the illness was neither COVID-19 nor influenza.
A urine test reportedly detected a large number of bacteria. Zokkun said he has been prescribed two weeks of antibiotic treatment, and that doctors warned if the infection does not clear up in that time, they will need to check whether it has spread to his kidneys.
Online commentators, citing a report from news outlet Yutura, described the livestream in question as part of a series called “Linear Rainband Report,” in which Zokkun drove around areas of Chiba under evacuation orders during a severe storm caused by a linear rainband weather system. During the broadcast, he reportedly used the downpour as an improvised outdoor shower, and when the rainfall alone wasn’t enough to rinse out shampoo, he reportedly finished by using water from a puddle that had collected on a flooded street. The fever and blood in his urine appeared roughly three days later.
The flooding referenced in the stream corresponds to severe storm damage recorded across Chiba Prefecture, including in the city of Funabashi, which had issued official warnings and evacuation guidance during the event.
News of Zokkun’s hospitalization spread quickly after the Yutura report was shared on X, drawing a wave of replies warning about the dangers of floodwater, which frequently mixes with overflowing sewage during heavy rain. Several commenters raised the risk of tetanus and sepsis from bacteria entering through the eyes, nose, or open pores, while others pointed to a widely cited case of a retired pro wrestler who developed sepsis and spent 18 days in critical condition after jumping into a canal in Osaka.
Who is Zokkun?
Zokkun (real handle @zokkun48) is a Japanese livestreamer known for broadcasting from extreme or hazardous outdoor conditions, including the “Linear Rainband Report” series that documents severe storm damage in real time. His streams place him directly at the scene of major weather events, a format that has drawn both viewers and, in this case, safety criticism after his exposure to contaminated floodwater led to a bacterial infection.
As of this report, Zokkun is undergoing antibiotic treatment and has not indicated when he plans to resume streaming.
Author’s Comment
I want to be clear: rain is not the problem here. Rain is basically distilled water. It’s what rain lands IN that turns it into a biohazard, and this man used a flooded Chiba street as his personal shower drain. I get it, extreme-weather livestreaming is its own genre in Japan now, chasing typhoons and rainbands for content the way other countries chase storm footage for the news. But there’s a difference between filming a flood and washing your hair in one. Japanese X was somehow both horrified and completely unsurprised, which tells you everything about how predictable this genre of stunt content has become. My genuine hope is that he heals up fine and maybe, just maybe, retires the puddle shampoo bit for good.
