Japanese police announced Thursday, December 16, that they had transmitted to the prosecution the file of a man who harassed a young participant in a reality show on social networks, whose suicide last May had an international impact.
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This suspect should be fully investigated in connection with the death of Hana Kimura, 22, who was on the reality show "
Terrace House
", which aired in Japan on Fuji Television and worldwide on the Netflix streaming platform, in which six young people cohabit in front of the cameras.
The man has not yet been arrested and his identity will be kept confidential pending a decision by the prosecution on whether or not to charge him with public insult, a Tokyo police spokesperson said.
“
The suspect messaged the victim on a social network last May, 'Your personality is horrible.
Is your life worth living? '
or 'Hey, hey, when are you going to die?'
“, He detailed.
“A
lot of people have seen these insults, which constitutes a public insult
” towards the young woman, he added.
Although very popular with the public, Hana Kimura, a wrestler with pink hair, had also received loads of insults on social networks, such as "
everyone will be happy when you are no longer there
", reported the Japanese media.
The show was canceled after his death, which had received worldwide media attention and once again called attention to the issue of cyberstalking in Japan and elsewhere.
Japanese government and elected officials have promised to fight this phenomenon more actively.
In South Korea, too, the deaths of several K-pop music stars in recent years have sparked calls for more severe punishments for online harassment.
And in the UK, the suicide last February of the host of the '
Love Island
'
reality show
sparked a massive online campaign against online harassment, under the hashtag #BeKind (be kind) .
