Tragedy ·
The Online Abuse That Followed Hana Kimura’s Terrace House Dispute
The 22-year-old wrestler died by suicide in May 2020. Terrace House was canceled, and her mother helped campaign for stronger penalties against online insults.
In March 2020, Hana Kimura objected after a fellow Terrace House cast member damaged one of her wrestling costumes. After footage of her anger aired, she became the target of extensive abuse on social media. In May, Kimura died by suicide. She was 22.
Kimura, a professional wrestler, had joined the programme in September 2019. Terrace House followed six young people sharing a home and aired on Fuji TV and Netflix. With her pink hair and confident presence, she had become a fan favourite. Before her death, she tweeted that she was receiving about a hundred hateful messages a day and that they hurt her.
Her mother, Kyoko Kimura, later described the attacks in an account published by the United Nations Population Fund. “She felt cornered,” she said. Kyoko believed the insults had pushed her daughter further into distress.
Fuji TV canceled the remaining planned production of Terrace House, saying it wanted to respond “sincerely” to the case. Kimura’s death also brought public discussion of anonymous bullying and hateful messages, followed by criminal proceedings over online abuse and a campaign to strengthen Japan’s penalties.
On March 30, 2021, the Tokyo Prosecutors’ Office said it had brought a summary indictment against an unnamed man in his twenties for making public insults. Police, who had referred him to prosecutors in December, said he had posted messages on Kimura’s social media account attacking her personality and asking when she would die. The summary procedure did not require him to face trial.
Later reporting on the parliamentary response said at least two people had been convicted of defaming Kimura and given court-ordered fines of 9,000 yen. The penalties drew anger from people who considered them too light. Parliament subsequently approved tougher criminal-defamation penalties, adding a prison term of one year and fines of up to 300,000 yen. The legislation also raised concerns about free speech, and lawmakers provided for an outside review after three years.
Kyoko, herself a professional wrestler, became a driving force behind the legal change. In testimony to parliament, she said she continued to receive insults, including accusations that she was using her daughter’s name to make money. She also created a foundation to help victims of online abuse. In her account for UNFPA, she described the question the family still asked: “How could we have helped her?”
The internet remained a difficult place for her. She spoke of fear and disgust, but also of its necessity in restoring Hana’s honour. “I now think that the problem is how people use it,” she said.