Archive · 9 Oct 2026
Japanese Creator Challenges Online Portrayals of India
Hikaru-san is a Japanese creator who lives in Mumbai.
She said she has lived there for eight months.
Living in India changed how she thinks about the country.
She feels that online posts often show only India's problems.
In her own experience, she has not encountered many of the troubling situations people discuss online.
She also said her experience is just about Mumbai, and life can differ across India.
She believes every country has good and bad parts.
Many people online thanked her for sharing a positive view.
One commenter made a separate claim about who spreads negative posts, but the article does not verify that claim.
Hikaru-san, a Japanese social media creator, said living in Mumbai changed how she views India.
She moved to Mumbai eight months ago and said her comments reflect her experience there.
She said online feeds often emphasize poverty, dirty surroundings and other negative aspects of India.
Hikaru-san said she has not experienced many of the problems that people discuss online, while noting she has lived safely.
Viewers praised her positive comments; one commenter separately alleged, without evidence in the article, that anti-India negativity was deliberately spread.
- Who
- Hikaru-san, a Japanese social media creator living in Mumbai.
- What
- She criticized online portrayals that focus on India's negative aspects and shared her experience living there.
- When
- She said she had moved to Mumbai eight months earlier; the article gives no publication date.
- Where
- Mumbai, India.
- Why
- She said living in India changed her perspective and she wanted to show the country’s beauty and positive aspects.
Hikaru-san's perspective
Critical online portrayals
How India is represented
Hikaru-san's perspective
Hikaru-san argued that online content often focuses on negative aspects and does not reflect the full range of her experience in Mumbai.
Critical online portrayals
The article says social media feeds highlight poverty, dirty surroundings and other negative aspects; it does not identify specific creators or establish how representative such content is.
Sharing negative experiences
Hikaru-san's perspective
She said it is useful to research places before visiting, but questioned the value of emphasizing a country's negatives just to attract views.
Critical online portrayals
She acknowledged that people should learn what a place is like before visiting and research areas in advance.
- Creator
- Hikaru-san, a Japanese social media creator
- Residence
- Mumbai, India
- Time in Mumbai
- Eight months at the time of the video
- Video title
- “What I have realised since moving to India”
- Her stated experience
- She said she had not encountered anyone strange or had particularly unpleasant experiences, and described her life as safe.
- Her point about online coverage
- She said social media often highlights poverty, dirty surroundings and other negative aspects of India.
- Audience reaction
- Social media users praised her for sharing a positive view of India.