Parliament cracks down on cyberbullying
Under Japan’s amended Penal Code, offenders can get up to a year in prison and fines of up to 300,000 yen. The changes follow a public debate sparked by the case of Hana Kimura, a young professional wrestler who committed suicide in 2020 after she was subjected to harsh social media attacks for something she said on a TV programme.
Tokyo (AsiaNews) – Japan’s Diet (parliament) on Monday approved an amendment to the country’s Penal Code to crack down on cyberbullying. This follows two years of campaigning in favour of tougher measures.
The bill to amend the Penal Code was presented in early January, during the current parliamentary session, and was aimed at imposing tougher sanctions on people who commit the offence of defamation.
Under the new provisions, imprisonment will be extended up to one year and fines can reach 300,000 yen (over US$ 2,200) for those found guilty.
The statute of limitations for insults was extended from one to three years, so as to give police enough time to investigate the identity of offenders, who often hide behind aliases or pennames on social media.
The push to toughen the Penal Code provisions against cyberbullying is due to a debate sparked by the case of Hana Kimura, who took her own life in May 2020.
Just 22, the young professional wrestler was subjected to a violent and prolonged attack on social media for some remarks she made on a Japanese television programme.
In the days leading up to her suicide, Kimura tweeted that she was receiving about a hundred insults and hate messages per day.
The case has attracted media and public attention, raising awareness among Japanese of the problem of vitriolic comments addressed to Kimura on social media.
Only two people were charged with defamation in connection with her death and fined 9,000 yen (US$ 67); too little for many Japanese who followed the story.
Kyoko, Hana Kimura's mother, also a professional wrestler, was one of the promoters of the campaign to revise the penalties against defamation.
Before the amendment, the penalties for this type of offence were the lightest in the entire Penal Code: up to 30 days in jail or a fine of less than 10,000 yen (US$ 75).
During a parliamentary hearing, Kyoko admitted that she herself had been the target of hate messages similar to those received by her daughter.
The amendment passed in both houses of the Japanese Diet after an agreement between the ruling conservative-leaning Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the opposition.
The Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) in particular feared that the measure could be used to protect politicians and officials from legitimate criticism of their actions, as well as infringe upon freedom of expression, a right guaranteed by the constitution.
Last month, the CDP and LDP struck a deal on amending the Penal Code: tougher defamation penalties will be subject to a review by a group of experts in three years to assess their effect and impact on freedom of speech.
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10/05/2021 17:21
11/07/2022 14:40
