Professional wrestler Hana Kimura died by suicide in May following several instances of cyberbullying from Terrace House: Tokyo viewers. Her mother, Kyoko Kimura, is trying to bring awareness to cyberbullying in the wake of the fatal incident. She is calling for further education regarding the use of social media, saying that “online abuse can take away people’s wills to live.”
Kyoko conducted a recent interview and said that her daughter struggled due to cyberbullying before her death. Many people were sending her hateful messages on Twitter due to one scene from the reality TV series. Kyoko said that her daughter spoke about the hardships associated with online abuse. In particular, one conversation reportedly featured Kimura crying while saying that “They don’t think of the people on the show as humans.”
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According to the Japan Times, an estimated 1,200 comments were directed at Kimura’s Twitter profile between the end of March and her death in May. Tokyo police examined these messages and picked out accounts from which hateful messages circulated. The police then sent papers regarding one man in his 20s from Osaka Prefecture to public prosecutors on abuse charges.
“There’s no balance between the psychological pain victims bear and the punishment for perpetrators,” Kyoko said, per Japan Times. “It takes time and money to identify offenders, and the bar is too high.” Those that are found guilty of abuse charges in Japan face under 30 days in jail or less than ยฅ10,000 in fines.
According to Nikkei Asia, the Tokyo police suspect the man of having cyberbullied Kimura on Twitter following an episode of Terrace House: Tokyo. He allegedly left anonymous comments on Twitter in mid-May, which were hateful in tone. The provided examples included “Is there any value to your life?” and “Hey, when are you going to die?”
While the current penalty for abuse charges are minor, Kyoko is reportedly considering taking legal action against those that cyberbullied her daughter on social media. She is currently in the process of requesting information from social media operators. Additionally, Kyoko is reportedly considering establishing a nonprofit organization to offer consultations on online abuse.
While she continues to consider legal action, Kyoko plans on visiting elementary schools in the coming year. Her goal is to spread awareness of social media education. “People engaging in online lynching have no awareness as offenders,” Kyoko said. “I’d like them to think about what they’re doing before they criticize others on social media.”
If you or someone you know are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.
