As Japan's Hana Kimura mourned, Terrace House cast say they also faced online abuse
Tributes are pouring in for Hana Kimura, a Japanese professional wrestler and a member of the Terrace House reality show on Netflix, who is understood to have killed herself on Saturday after being the victim of online bullying. She was 22.
Kimura's death was announced by World Wonder Wing Stardom, the female wrestling league that she fought in, although the brief statement gave no further details.
An apparent suicide note was found at her Tokyo home, in which she expressed her gratitude toward people around her, local media reported on Monday. Police have not confirmed the cause of her death.
A picture posted online by Hana Kimura before her death. Photo: Twitter
On the day of her death, she tweeted: "Every day, I receive nearly 100 honest opinions and I cannot deny that I get hurt." She also wrote: "Thank you for giving birth to me, Mom. I wanted to be loved in life."
Kyoko Kimura, her mother and a former professional wrestler, has not yet spoken publicly about her daughter's death.
Other people who appeared in the hugely popular show, as well as stars of the sporting, music and acting worlds, have been less reticent.
"How can you judge people you have never met and only seen on screen?" said Ryo Tawatari, a basketball player who left the Terrace House set earlier this year, in a message aimed at Kimura's online tormentors. "Did they do something directly to you that you didn't like? What do you know? Are you perfect?"
He said these social media users do not know other people's thoughts and anxieties, and their history. "Before you talk about other people's lives, live your own life," he wrote.
Reina Triendl, a presenter of the show, posted a message on Instagram calling on people both offline and online to "create a kinder, more loving world" in which people do not hurt or damage others, even inadvertently.
Kimura became the target of online abuse after an altercation with one of the other Terrace House residents in which she slapped him after he damaged her wrestling costume. People posted on Twitter and other social media sites that she should leave the programme and that she was "stupid". More than one message said she should kill herself.
Hana Kimura enters the ring during a wrestling event in Tokyo in March. Photo: Getty Images
Such online attacks appear to have been a common experience for other participants in the show, with Emika Mizukoshi saying she had also been targeted when she left Terrace House.
"Lots of people wrote 'Die' or 'Go away' or 'Don't go on TV if you can't handle it.' But even people who work in the spotlight are human," she wrote on Instagram.
"We have emotions," she added. "Words really become weapons. The problem is not that you are mentally weak or you can't hack it or you're out there so you should just take it. We have to dispel this trend of thinking that it's OK to say anything you like to so-called famous people."
Makoto Watanabe, a professor of media and communications at Hokkaido Bunkyo University, said Kimura's death and the way she was hounded online have reinforced his opinion that people are not ready for the power that the internet and instant communication have put at their fingertips.
"We often learn that the sort of people who go out of their way to do this to another person are frustrated with their own lives, they feel excluded from society and are jealous of other people's achievements and they are just looking for an opportunity to hurt someone else," he said.
"They often choose someone who is famous, successful and popular " all the things that they do not have themselves " and social media makes it easy to single them out and attack them while at the same time remaining anonymous."
Hana Kimura, who died on Saturday. Photo: Twitter
Watanabe said there had been a recent "trend of intolerance" towards people who are in some way different or stand out in the crowd, pointing out that Kimura was a successful female wrestler with dyed pink hair " not attributes that would necessarily resonate with conservative Japanese.
People are often completely ignorant of the consequences of their words, Watanabe said, and he hoped that those who targeted Kimura online will regret their decisions.
The nature of Japan's "instant society" means that Kimura's death could be quickly forgotten by many people who will turn their attention to someone else, he said, although it has attracted a lot of attention and is being widely discussed.
"It is healthy that we are at least having this conversation and I can only hope that Kimura's death will have a lasting impact on our society," Watanabe said. "If it makes people think about online bullying, the possible consequences and suicide, then that will at least be something positive."
Professional wrestler Hana Kimura. Photo: Twitter
Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga on Monday offered condolences to Kimura's family, and said officials are looking into ways to simplify procedures to identify individuals who make defamatory posts online.
Parties also agreed to start discussions on establishing a set of rules to prevent cyberbullying. "It is important for the legislature to play a role to make a society without such incidents," said Hiroshi Moriyama of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Additional reporting by Kyodo
If you are having suicidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on +1 800 273 8255. For a list of other nations' helplines, see this page.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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