A Tokyo District Court on Wednesday fined a man found to have posted abusive social media messages about deceased pro-wrestler and “Terrace House” cast member Kimura Hana. He was ordered to pay JPY1.29 million (US$11,800).
The reality show was a Fuji Television production that Netflix carried as an original production. Kimura Hana appeared in the 2019-2020 season.
Kimura’s mother, Kimura Kyoko brought the suit and sought damages of JPY2.94 million ($27,000). The man’s name was not revealed by the court in its verdict announcement.
According to the suit filed by Kimura Kyoko, after her daughter’s death by suicide on May 23, 2020, the man posted on Twitter that “Everyone is happy about your death, thank you” and that “The program (“Terrace House”) has been canceled due to your suicide. So who’s been causing trouble right to the end. Go to hell.”
Kimura Kyoko initially approached Twitter requesting the man’s IP address, followed by further requests to the internet service provider for the man’s name and address. She filed suit against the ISP in October of last year and received the requested information in December. She then sued the poster in January of this year.
Kimura Hana became the target of internet bullying after an on-air argument in March 2020 with a fellow cast member, who had mistakenly put her pro wrestling costume in the washing machine, causing it to shrink. She became depressed over the online abuse and took her own life.
Two other men, similarly anonymous, have been fined relatively small amounts for posting hateful online messages about Kimura.
The show was canceled by Fuji TV days after Kimura’s death, and Netflix later removed episodes from its platform. Sources close to Netflix have indicated that the streamer has no plans to revive the show.
If you or anyone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please a suicide hotline for help. In the U.S. the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255. For a list of hotlines in other countries please click here.
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