The man is seen smoking on camera, before he throws an oil covered match into a trashbag full of paper.
The paper then caught on fire, prompting the man to move the trashbag into the corner of the room, near some cardboard boxes.
The man then leaves the room and returns with a small bowl of water that he throws on the flame - with little impact.
He eventually resorts to throwing papers and then a blanket over the fire - which only spreads the blaze further.
Over the 11 minute long video, the fire grows progressively larger, eventually filling the room with smoke before the man gives up fighting the blaze and flees the apartment.
The video, which has been viewed more than 233,000 times on YouTube, features a man who reportedly lives in Shikoku, Japan.
It's not believed the man or anyone else was harmed during the incident.
