Top 50 Automotive Influencers in Japan to Know in 2026

Affiliation: Individual, operating the official channel of the blog “Wonder Sokuho” · Last post: within the past day.

1.49M YouTube subscribers. The video arm of the “Wonder Sokuho” blog, the channel says on its about page that it buys the cars it is interested in and then reviews them, a self-purchase format that research-stage shoppers read as independent.

Credentials: Motoring journalist (self-described) · Affiliation: Individual, operating “E-CarLife with Gomi Yasutaka” · Last post: within the past day.

1.09M YouTube subscribers. One of the earlier entrants into Japanese automotive YouTube, the channel is built around test drives of new models and EVs, presented under the motoring-journalist title on its about page.

Affiliation: Individual · Last post: within the past few days.

222K YouTube subscribers. The channel rates new models and viewer-requested vehicles on a five-point scale, branded as “no-holds-barred, candid reviews”, so a sponsored car can still receive a negative or mixed verdict.

Credentials: Automotive journalist and motorsport MC; large-motorcycle licence (self-described) · Affiliation: Individual · Last post: within the past week.

143K YouTube subscribers. “Imai Yuki’s Test Drive Show” combines new-car test-drive reviews with circuit-based talk segments featuring racing drivers, and her large-motorcycle licence opens the channel to two-wheel as well as four-wheel briefs.

Credentials: Motoring journalist and talent (self-described) · Affiliation: Individual · Last post: within the past few days.

139K YouTube subscribers. “Kei Tube” has presented new-car introductions and drive-spot features in its current form since mid-2021, in a lighter, entertainment-format style rather than a strictly technical review.

Credentials: Automotive journalist with more than 20 years of trade writing (self-described) · Affiliation: Individual · Last post: within the past day.

55.4K YouTube subscribers. “Kozzi TV” covers new-car comparisons and notable-model introductions, drawing on more than two decades of serialised trade writing.

Credentials: Former contracted racing driver for Nissan and later Toyota; automotive journalist and critic (self-described) · Affiliation: Individual · Last post: within the past few days.

38K YouTube subscribers. “CAR Droid” covers test-drive reports, racing-machine features and import-car introductions. According to his about page, he won an All-Japan championship as a student and drove under factory contracts for Nissan and then Toyota from age 26 before turning journalist and critic.

Credentials: Car-life essayist (self-described) · Affiliation: Individual · Last post: about two weeks ago.

30.1K YouTube subscribers. “Yoshida Yumi Channel” posts new-car and car-life content on a near-daily 8pm schedule, presenting new cars from a female perspective. She also co-runs a separate channel, “Kuruma Gyokai Joshi-bu Channel”, with Marumo Akiko.

Affiliation: Individual · Last post: within the past few days.

101K YouTube subscribers, the largest channel in this segment. Subtitled “the man least suited to a Lamborghini in the world”, it posts videos mainly about supercars and cars, with Lamborghini at the centre.

Affiliation: President of Bushu Tobi Co., Ltd. (construction/scaffolding business); supercar content is a secondary activity · Last post: within the past few days.

70.2K YouTube subscribers. “GOCCI Channel” is run by Goshima Manabu, president of a construction and scaffolding company, and features the many supercars he owns alongside his day-to-day as a company president.

Affiliation: Individual (entrepreneur) · Last post: within the past two weeks.

55.1K YouTube subscribers. The “Maezawa Yusaku Supercar Channel” features his supercars and hypercars, naming Bugatti, Pagani, Koenigsegg and Ferrari among the marques, alongside his MAEZAWA RACING motorsport activity.

Affiliation: Individual · Last post: around seven months ago.

25.3K YouTube subscribers. A car-life variety channel centred mainly on Lamborghini and Porsche. It last posted about seven months ago, so confirm current activity before briefing.

Credentials: Racing driver (self-described) · Affiliation: Independent (individual channel) · Last YouTube upload: within the past week.

383K YouTube subscribers. “NOB”, the official channel of racing driver Taniguchi Nobuteru, posts every Friday, covering new cars, classic cars, car-related products and motorsport including racing, drift and time attack.

Credentials: Former racing driver (self-described) · Affiliation: Independent (individual channel) · Last YouTube upload: within the past month.

262K YouTube subscribers. DRIFT KING TELEVISION (DKTV), the channel of former racing driver Tsuchiya Keiichi, is built around the “Drift King” name and drift heritage. It posts less often than most channels in this segment.

Credentials: Buddhist monk based in Tsukuba, Ibaraki (self-described) · Affiliation: Independent; drifts as a hobby alongside monastic duties · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

181K YouTube subscribers. On “you寺FACTORY”, Komacchan, “the drift monk”, uploads hobby drift footage while working as a Buddhist monk in Tsukuba, a novelty and lifestyle angle for entry-level drift audiences rather than a professional-driver endorsement.

Affiliation: Independent (individual channel) · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

130K YouTube subscribers. On “Sports Driving Labo.”, Oi Takayuki takes on racing, rally, gymkhana, dirt trials, hill climbs and ice trials himself, alongside everyday driving content: participation-level motorsport across many disciplines.

Affiliation: Independent; also runs the parts and goods shop “uras” on Yahoo! Shopping · Last YouTube upload: within the past week.

58.7K YouTube subscribers. Presented as “Nomuken Jr. (Keichan)”, the channel centres on drift-related car activity and the parts shop it links to, so for a competing parts or accessories brand it is a competitor as well as a channel.

Credentials: Racing driver (self-described) · Affiliation: Independent (individual channel); an active competitor · Last YouTube upload: within the past week.

40.9K YouTube subscribers. The channel of racing driver Nojiri Tomoki covers racing and car-related content for a performance-minded motorsport audience. As an active competitor, he may be bound by his team’s and sponsors’ exclusivity terms.

Credentials: Professional racing driver competing in Japan and the United States (self-described) · Affiliation: Independent (individual channel); an active competitor · Last YouTube upload: roughly two months ago.

24.2K YouTube subscribers. “773TV” is presented by Tsukamoto Nanami, a female professional racer competing in both Japan and the United States, who has also made collaboration products with a coatings brand. The last upload was about two months ago.

Credentials: Self-taught (self-described) · Affiliation: Independent (individual channel) · Last YouTube upload: within the past week.

252K YouTube subscribers. “Toyochan Garage” is run by an ordinary car enthusiast who restores and repairs cars and motorcycles as a hobby, all of it self-taught, and the channel tells viewers that any maintenance they copy is at their own risk.

Affiliation: Independent (individual channel); accepts commercial filming and PV (promotional video) work · Last YouTube upload: within the past two weeks.

94.4K YouTube subscribers. “Yuuro TV” is built around a wide-body GT-R finished in Liberty Walk style, driven to locations around the country, and also films other owners’ cars. The about page says he takes PV shoots and corporate projects.

Affiliation: Independent · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

55.4K YouTube subscribers. “Chidori Workshop’s Restoration Diary” is a long-form build diary of hands-on restoration projects.

Affiliation: Owner-operator of a classic-car dealership in Oita Prefecture · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

48.6K YouTube subscribers. Kagawa Naoya runs “80 Garage Impact”, a classic-car specialist dealership in Oita, and takes phone appraisals, so the channel doubles as his business’s shop window.

Affiliation: Independent (individual channel) · Last YouTube upload: within the past two weeks.

12.1K YouTube subscribers. “American Musclecar Owlman”, aged 58, has owned eight American muscle cars in succession, including a 1969 Corvette Stingray with iron bumpers, and builds the channel around that long ownership history.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

882K YouTube subscribers, the largest channel in this segment. It explains automotive engineering and how cars work for a general audience rather than a specialist repair crowd, a format where dash cams, car electronics and tools fit into a “how it works” segment.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

448K YouTube subscribers. Presented under the “Shinopi” persona, the channel is built around reviewing car-care chemicals and detailing products.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

439K YouTube subscribers. RED Memory covers DIY vehicle maintenance and customisation, a hands-on setting where a tool or maintenance product is shown in use.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: within the past week.

369K YouTube subscribers. Ma-san Garage reviews tools and films DIY maintenance work in a home garage.

Last YouTube upload: about two weeks ago.

254K YouTube subscribers. The channel covers vehicle maintenance and car life and may be linked to a repair shop, “Morimoto Motors”, so confirm the business behind it before briefing.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

165K YouTube subscribers. The channel specialises in car-wash technique and car-wash products, and in 2025 it supervised a car-wash hose reel for a home-and-garden goods maker, so it has a product interest when it reviews related items.

Affiliation: Individual · Last YouTube upload: within the past week.

111K YouTube subscribers. GT-studio builds its content around automotive-engineering explainers.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

104K YouTube subscribers. Reverse Sakkii covers vehicle maintenance and DIY car care in a demonstration format.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: within the past week.

594K YouTube subscribers, the largest channel in this segment. Kotsubu Channel is a sport-touring motovlog.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

476K YouTube subscribers. Whitebase mixes new-model test rides, touring and maintenance explainers, a broader range of formats than the single-format motovlogs in this segment.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: within the past month.

380K YouTube subscribers. Nacchan mixes everyday-life content with motorcycle riding, a softer entry point for women riders and first-bike buyers than a pure gear-review channel. The last upload was about three weeks ago.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

368K YouTube subscribers. Woka Rider covers scenic touring, new-model test rides and gear reviews.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: within the past two weeks.

202K YouTube subscribers. Chigasaki Minami tours and camps on a Super Cub C125, filmed in a noticeably cinematic style.

Affiliation: Individual · Last YouTube post: 5 September 2026.

186K YouTube subscribers. Yomichi Yuki mixes motorcycle content with other genres.

Affiliation: Individual creator · Last YouTube upload: roughly a month ago.

185K YouTube subscribers. Muscle Bike Channel posts touring and motovlog content. The last upload was about a month ago.

Affiliation: Individual (a couple presenting as a unit) · Last YouTube upload: within the past day.

160K YouTube subscribers. RAMPAGE MONKEY is run by a couple who ride together, mixing casual talk, motovlogs, bike customisation and touring in a more conversational tone than the solo-rider channels here.

Affiliation: Independent (individual) · Last post: within the past day.

568K YouTube subscribers. The operator converted a second-hand kei van and spent five years travelling around Japan in it, and the channel now follows a DIY renovation of an old countryside house.

Affiliation: Independent (couple-run channel) · Last post: within the past day.

263K YouTube subscribers. A married couple converted a Caravan van for car camping and travelled around Japan in it. They have been featured on Kaelife, a site on Honda’s official web domain.

Affiliation: Independent (couple-run channel) · Last post: roughly five months ago.

208K YouTube subscribers. Tabibanana is a married couple’s road-trip and van-life channel. It last posted about five months ago, so treat it as an archive rather than a current production slot.

Affiliation: Independent (family-run channel) · Last post: within the past two weeks.

150K YouTube subscribers. The Yamato family’s van-trip travel channel puts a whole household on screen rather than a couple or a solo creator.

Affiliation: Independent (couple-run channel) · Last YouTube post: 20 September 2026.

90.7K YouTube subscribers. Formerly One Time Life, the channel follows a married couple who completed a car-camping trip around Japan with their dog between December 2021 and September 2023.

Affiliation: Self-described “no sugar-coating dealership president” · Last post: within the past day.

559K YouTube subscribers, the largest channel in this segment. The host explains how to buy and sell a used car without losing money from a dealership operator’s position, which makes the channel both a media placement and a competitor for marketplaces and finance brands.

Affiliation: Used-car dealership “Start Base” · Last post: within the past two weeks.

156K YouTube subscribers. Run by the used-car dealership Start Base, the channel tells viewers the “honest truth” of the used-car trade, so it works more like a dealer’s own media than an independent creator’s channel.

Affiliation: Independent (own merchandise line) · Last post: within the past week.

151K YouTube subscribers. A Fukuoka-based “Jimny joshi”, a woman who owns a Jimny, films her day-to-day car life with it and sells her own original merchandise.

Affiliation: President of the used-car dealership Y’s (self-described) · Last post: within the past day.

125K YouTube subscribers. The president of the used-car dealership Y’s, a self-styled “car-dealership YouTuber”, explains the used-car trade from an operator’s perspective.

Credentials: Secondhand dealer’s licence for motor vehicles (self-reported) · Affiliation: Active member of a dealer-only used-car auction (self-reported) · Last post: within the past week.

74.6K YouTube subscribers. Kenta analyses used-car market prices for viewers who want to avoid losing money when trading in or replacing a car, speaking as an active member of a dealer-only auction.