Japan makes online insults punishable by 1 year in jail in wake of reality star's death
Japan has made online insults punishable by up to a year in prison in an effort to reduce cyberbullying after the death of reality television star Hana Kimura.
Japan has made online insults punishable by up to a year in prison in an effort to reduce cyberbullying after the death of a reality television star who had faced a wave of online abuse.
Previously, the maximum penalty for the crime of “insultation” was less than 30 days’ detention or a fine of less than 10,000 yen ($75). The amendment to Japan’s penal code, which lawmakers passed Monday and is set to take effect this summer, introduces the prison term and increases the maximum fine to 300,000 yen.
The statute of limitations on prosecution was also increased to three years from one.
Though the law also covers insults made offline, those are less likely to be subject to the tougher penalties because they are disseminated to fewer people, said Ryuichi Nozaki, a senior partner at the law firm Atsumi & Sakai in Tokyo.
There has been greater concern about cyberbullying in Japan since 2020, when Hana Kimura, a 22-year-old professional wrestler and a cast member on the Netflix series “Terrace House,” died by suicide after being harassed online.
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