Netflix Might Get Sued By Japanese Government Over "Dark Tourist" Episode

Fukushima isn't impressed with Netflix's Dark Tourist.

Dark Tourist might be your latest binge on Netflix but it's facing some backlash from the local government in Japan's Fukushima who aren't happy with its second episode.

The show follows a Kiwi journalist, David Farrier, as he sets out to uncover the world's weirdest, scariest and saddest tourist attractions. His second episode is set in Japan and focuses mostly on the area of Fukushima, a prefecture that experienced a huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011, which resulted in a serious nuclear meltdown.

Government officials from the prefecture have taken particular issue with the way in which the area is negatively depicted in the episode, and are reportedly considering legal action against Netflix.

"We're examining the video content," a senior official from the Fukushima government told Jiji, a Japanese news agency.

The episode sees Farrier sets out on a journey to explore the area, taking a tour bus to visit the nuclear sites.

But while on the road to affected sites in Fukushima, Farrier records a radiation reading 50 times higher than safe levels and the tour is subsequently cancelled. 

After the tour is cancelled, the tour group have a lunch together and Farrier expresses his fear that the food could be contaminated. He later films a visit to an abandoned arcade deemed strictly off-limits by the government.

The Fukushima government officials are interested in finding out the location the high radiation reading was taken, why Farrier was concerned about his food and why he decided to visit a prohibited arcade.

He later told the New Zealand Herald that despite not physically feeling the radiation, it was a scary situation being in that area.

"It's super-disconcerting when the readings are suddenly spiking. Because, essentially, you're in the middle of a microwave," he explained.

"You can't feel anything but this device is telling you that the radiation is way higher than is safe.

"The thing in the back of my head now is, 'Am I going to regret this in 20 years time?'"

Header Image: Netflix