Issei (internet personality)
Issei | |
|---|---|
| Born | Issei Toita August 6, 1999 Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupations |
|
| TikTok information | |
| Page | |
| Years active | 2019–present |
| Followers | 12.5 million |
| YouTube information | |
| Channels | |
| Years active | 2021–present |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Subscribers |
|
| Views |
|
| Last updated: August 15, 2026 | |
Issei Toita (Japanese: 問田一誠, Hepburn: Toita Issei; born August 6, 1999), professionally known as Issei (Japanese: いっせい; stylized in all caps), is a Japanese YouTuber and TikToker. As of August 2026[update], he had amassed over 12.5 million followers on TikTok and 76 million subscribers on YouTube, making him the most subscribed Japanese YouTube channel.[a] He was listed in Forbes Japan's 30 Under 30 in 2025.
Early life and education
[edit]Issei Toita was born on August 6, 1999, in Tokyo.[† 1][1][2] In elementary school he was an active member of a cheering squad. From middle school to high school he played baseball, but quit when he developed a serious spinal disease.[3]
Career
[edit]Toita started his YouTube channel in 2014.[4] He later stated he originally began using social media in an attempt to start a career in acting.[1] Up until 2019, he was in a talent agency.[5] In 2019, he launched his TikTok account while he was signed to an acting agency.[1] He said that he is having a hard time finding work he envisioned and realized that making a living solely as an actor is incredibly tough. He turned to uploading videos on social media. By then. During that time, vertical short-form videos started getting popular.[6]
Toita has stated that "non-verbal" videos allowed him to gain traction internationally, particularly in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand. He originally intended his videos to be watched in Japan.[6][1] He started uploading short-form videos on his YouTube channel in 2021.[6][2] He reached 10 million followers on TikTok in 2022.[3] In 2022, his YouTube channel also became popular after he posted a video titled "BODY PUZZLE", which became viral overseas.[6] According to RealSound, seven out of the ten most viewed short YouTube videos in Japan from January to June 2022 were by Issei.[7]
In 2024, his YouTube channel became the most subscribed channel in Japan.[a] He surpassed Jun'ya as the most subscribed Japanese YouTuber channel. On January 8, 2025, he became the first Japanese YouTuber to reach 50 million subscribers.[9]
He was featured in Forbes Japan's "30 Under 30" under the Entertainment & Sports category in the October 2025 issue of the magazine.[2] In August 2025, he launched his second YouTube channel, "AGBOGBLOSHIE STARS", after he visited Agbogbloshie, a suburb in Accra, Ghana. In September 2025, he teamed up with street artist Shingo Nagasaka to carry out activities aimed at "eradicating poverty in Ghana", stating that half of the channel's profit would go into "employment, education, and environmental improvement" in the region.[10][11]
Content
[edit]Toita videos feature comedy videos. He typically does not speak in his videos, conveying intent primarily through gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.[12][6] He also uploads vlogs showcasing his daily life and interests, challenge videos, reaction videos, and narrative-driven videos that convey messages to his audience.[3] As of May 2026, he uploaded over 4,700 videos on his YouTube channel.[12]
According to Toita, filming takes place almost every day at a studio in Tokyo. Upon gathering at the studio, the team begins by reviewing previously posted videos and discussing upcoming shoots, then films scenes in areas such as the kitchen and bedroom. After editing the footage, they release an average of about three videos a day.[6] The whole process takes eight to ten hours. He uses a DSLR camera when filming videos.[3]
Reception
[edit]Shiki Iwasawa and Takashi Yoshida of The Asahi Shimbun describe Toita’s video as “comically” referencing the fact that he does not say anything in the video, adding that it is comedy that resonates with people all over the world. According to The Asahi Shimbun, he garnered approximately 100 million views annually.[6]
See also
[edit]- Hoshimachi Suisei – YouTuber who was also listed in Forbes Japan's 30 Under 30 in 2025
- List of most-subscribed YouTube channels
- List of most-viewed YouTube channels
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Takahashi, Manabu (October 3, 2022). 国内TikTok「神7」、ISSEIって誰？ 1秒単位で心を動かす動画テク [Who is ISSEI, one of Japan's top 7 TikToks? Video techniques that move the heart in seconds]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- 1 2 3 日本一のユーチューバー「ISSEI」世界6400万人を楽しませる25歳：30UNDER30 [Japan's number one YouTuber "ISSEI" entertains 64 million people worldwide at 25 years old: 30UNDER30]. Forbes Japan. August 25, 2025. Archived from the original on August 25, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 インフルエンサー・ISSEIさんの仕事術 海外にもフォロワー、日本有数の影響力 [Influencer ISSEI's Work Techniques: With followers overseas and one of the most influential figures in Japan]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). March 20, 2025. Archived from the original on June 3, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ YouTube登録者数の日本1位じゅんやが陥落──新たな“王”は登録者3700万人のISSEIに [Junya, the number one YouTube subscriber in Japan, has fallen from the top spot - ISSEI, with 37 million subscribers, is the new "king"]. Kai-You. July 22, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ TikTokフォロワー1000万人超え。ISSEIに聞く、世界でバズるクリエイターになるまでの話「オワコン化したこともあった] [With over 10 million TikTok followers, ISSEI shares his story of becoming a globally popular creator: "There were times when I felt like I was past my prime."]. RealSound (in Japanese). August 20, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Shiki, Iwasawa; Takashi, Yoshida (May 12, 2026). 登録者数7500万人なぜ？ 日本一のユーチューバーISSEIとは [Why does he have 75 million subscribers? Who is ISSEI, Japan's number one YouTuber?]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved May 23, 2026.
- ↑ 2022年上半期YouTube Shorts再生数ランキング ISSEIが1億再生動画連発でランキングを牛耳る [YouTube Shorts View Rankings for the First Half of 2022: ISSEI Dominates the Rankings with a Series of 100 Million View Videos]. RealSound. July 20, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ "PewDiePie is no longer among YouTube's top 10 most-subscribed channels; here's who replaced him after 12 years". The Indian Express. June 25, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ YouTube界の王「ISSEI」チャンネル登録者数5000万人を突破 日本人史上初の快挙 [YouTube king "ISSEI" surpasses 50 million subscribers, a first for a Japanese user]. Kai-You (in Japanese). January 8, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ チャンネル登録6600万超ISSEI ガーナの貧困地域撲滅を目指す活動をスタート [ISSEI, with over 66 million subscribers, launches initiative to eradicate poverty in Ghana]. Nikkan Sports. September 5, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ YouTubeチャンネル登録者数日本一のISSEI（いっせい）、ガーナの貧困地域撲滅を目指す活動をスタート「夢と希望を与えられたら」 [ISSEI, the YouTube channel with the most subscribers in Japan, launches a campaign to eradicate poverty in Ghana "If we can give people dreams and hope"]. Oricon. September 5, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- 1 2 Iwasawa, Shiki; Yoshida, Takashi (May 25, 2026). "壁なき動画、世界を笑顔に 身ぶりや表情で表現、１００カ国以上で拡散 ユーチューバー・ＩＳＳＥＩ" [Videos without walls make the world smile, expressed through gestures and facial expressions, spread in over 100 countries by YouTuber issei]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved August 15, 2026.
Primary sources
[edit]- ↑ Issei, Toita [@issei_0806]; (August 7, 2021). 昨日の誕生日で22歳になりました🙌 みんな祝ってくれてありがとう！ これまでtiktokを投稿し続けてこれたのもみんなのコメント、反応があってのことなので感謝の気持ちが尽きない次第です😌 見てくれるみんなのおかげで芸能人の方とコラボしたり地方のテレビにも出たりといい経験が出来ました^_^ 22歳はより笑顔になってもらえるようなコンテンツをもっと届けられるよう、みんなへの感謝を忘れずに頑張って行きます！💪 これからも応援よろしくね！！ ※動画は関係ないです、ただ個人的に好きな動画で見てほしいだけです✋ (in Japanese) – via Instagram.
