TOKYO (TR) – Former Japanese TV presenter and YouTuber Kanon Aoki has sounded the alarm that X’s new automatic translation feature is destroying Japan’s international reputation by broadcasting the offensive posts of local internet trolls to the entire world.
Aoki, 33, has publicly documented her gender transition and experience with a difference of sex development. On April 23, she took to X to express her dismay over the platform’s recent AI update.
Powered by the generative AI tool Grok, the new feature automatically translates Japanese posts into other languages, effectively dismantling the language barrier that once shielded global users from domestic toxicity.
“Seeing the image of Japanese people worsen among foreigners makes me a bit depressed,” Aoki wrote in her post.
She warned that the blunt and hostile behavior of a minority of Japanese netizens is now sparking international backlash, tarnishing the nation’s long-held reputation for politeness and harmony.
“I hate that there are posts by a tiny fraction of Japanese people making a fool of foreign countries, which is buying backlash from people worldwide,” Aoki stated. “The low-level behavior of these few Japanese people drags down the impression of the whole country.”
Prior to the translation tool’s rollout, Japan’s insular web culture allowed hateful or xenophobic comments to largely fly under the radar of the global community.
Aoki’s warning has since ignited a fierce debate online, with some users agreeing that the tool exposes a darker side of domestic social media, while others argue it will finally hold aggressive users accountable for their online behavior.
