YouTube as a Last Will and Testament

The YouTube channel of a person named "Takashi Soko" is interesting.

It is not always interesting, but sometimes, it is incredibly interesting.

In particular, the following video was interesting and moving.

It is too late for someone already retired, but the regret of having chosen the wrong career still constantly blames me even now. Please listen to my story of regret. A story of regret from someone living in San Francisco for 40 years. (Takashi Soko)

Takashi, who lives in San Francisco—Soko—is 72 years old. He has been in the U.S. for 44 years.

He is from a small island in the Seto Inland Sea. Since he was a child, he was exceptionally good only at English. He graduated from the Department of English Literature at Sophia University and initially got a job at a bank.

However, he did not want to live a life of "getting a wife and having children," so he moved to the U.S. in his late 20s.

Since then, he has worked as a contract employee for software companies and has reached the age where he can receive a U.S. pension. He is single.

His parents in Japan passed away over 30 years ago, and he has not met his younger brother, his only blood relative, since then.

He has not returned to Japan for 17 years. There is no one he wants to see in Japan.

However, he only obtained permanent residency in the U.S. and intentionally did not take citizenship (so he still has Japanese nationality). He lives alone in a small condominium he owns.

He is not poor, but because he has no savings for emergencies, he is still looking for part-time work even now that he is over 70.

The video above begins with the question:

"To all retired seniors,

do you think your career choice was the right one?"

which is the question that starts it off.

And then, he talks about his thoughts as the end of his life approaches, having struggled to find a good job in America and having relied on unemployment insurance.

In the end, what should I have done? I have to admit that there was no job I truly wanted to do, but I should have been a bit wiser. However, it is also a fact that I have lived safely until now—such self-questioning continues.

The video shows Takashi traveling through San Francisco by bus. The words, 'The destination is near, I can no longer return to the starting point,' resonate in a literary way.

In short, it expresses the reflections on life that any retired senior might think about.

Takashi is a YouTuber who usually earns thousands of views with content like 'Introducing Life in America,' but this episode, released in July of this year, seems to have received an exceptional response. It has reached over 30,000 views and has many comments expressing how moving it is.

I apologize for such a cheap impression, but this is a video that touches the heart, just like a high-quality movie!

I was moved by this profound video. The words about how once you know something, you can never go back, resonated with me in particular.

San Francisco-san's videos are poetic and make me feel calm while watching them. It's almost like watching an Ozu film.

The sentiment that it is 'like a movie' is very understandable.

Deep content, such as that conveyed by novels or films, is contained within a 15-minute YouTube video.

And there is no artificiality like that found in novels or films.

It is simply an honest expression of thoughts on life.

However, that has become an expression that transcends novels and films. I was very impressed.

I don't know if young people would be moved in the same way, but it will undoubtedly 'strike a chord' with the elderly.

While watching YouTube, I sometimes come across videos like this.

I don't think it's something that can be created intentionally.

I feel that for that person, it is something like a 'last will and testament'.

I feel that this genre doesn't have a name yet.

But what I want to touch upon right now is not a novel or a movie, but 'things like this'.