Man fined £59 over cyberbullying charges following tragic death of Netflix star Hana Kimura

A man has been charged and fined for cyberbullying Hana Kimura.

The late Japanese wrestler – who was a cast member on Netflix reality show Terrace House: Tokyo – tragically died aged 22 in May after becoming the target of abusive posts on social media.

According to AFP, a spokesman for Tokyo Prosecutors’ Office they had made a ‘summary indictment against a man in his 20s’ following her death.

The man – who has not been named – was referred to prosecutors by police in December 2020, as they said: ‘The suspect… posted messages on a social media account of the victim, including “You have such an awful personality. Is your life worth living?” and “Hey, hey. When will you die?” ‘

He isn’t obliged to face trial under the indictment, but has been charged with making public insults.

According to local report, a Tokyo court issued an order to fine the man 9,000 yen, which is around £59 ($80).

It was previously reported that almost 1,200 posts from 600 accounts are under investigation, while the man had apologised to Kimura’s family over email in June.

She had received online abuse after appearing on Terrace House and having a confrontation with a male housemate back in October 2019 after he ruined the costume she wore for a major match before Wrestle Kingdom 14.

Now, the Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization (BPO) has found no human rights violations after reviewing the reality show following a claim from Kyoko Kimura, Hana’s mother.

As reported by the Japan Times, the BPO said the programme had ‘problems in terms of broadcasting ethics’, although the organisation didn’t recognise human rights violations.

The committee also said Fuji Television offered ‘a certain level of psychological support to Hana Kimura after she harmed herself following the distribution of an episode online before it was aired on TV’, and added ‘it cannot be said that her ability to make free decisions had been stripped.’

Meanwhile, the broadcaster said in a statement: ‘We take the (BPO’s) decision seriously and will make organizational efforts to tackle social media-related issues, including through a newly established department in charge of such matters.’

In May last year, the wrestler died after sharing a picture of herself with her cat with the troubling caption: ‘Goodbye.’

According to Variety, Kimura had also posted a number of concerning tweets, in which she said she ‘didn’t want to be a human anymore’ and reportedly implied she had been cyber bullied.

She wrote: ‘Nearly 100 frank opinions every day. I couldn’t deny that I was hurt. I’m dead. Thank you for giving me a mother. It was a life I wanted to be loved.

‘Thank you to everyone who supported me. I love it. I’m weak, I’m sorry. I don’t want to be a human anymore. It was a life I wanted to be loved. Thank you, everyone. I love you. Bye.’

Hana also alluded to self-harm in a number of tweets.

The wrestler – whose mother was also in the business – made her debut with Wrestle-1 in 2016 and won her first title, the JWP Junior Championship, the same year.

In 2019, she left Wrestle-1 to join Stardom, where she became the leader of the Tokyo Cyber Squad faction.

During her time at Stardom, she won the Artist of Stardom championship twice, as well as a Goddess of Stardom championship.

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