Latest news with #TerraceHouse
The Mainichi
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Japan to study tougher penalties amid online abuse of celebrities
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan will launch a panel of experts to study tougher penalties for defamation, Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki said Tuesday, amid growing awareness of personal abuse online directed at celebrities and public figures. The panel will examine whether the revised Penal Code, enacted in 2022, properly addresses abusive behavior, such as personal attacks on social media, and assess whether it places unfair restrictions on freedom of expression, Suzuki said. Discussions are set to begin as early as September, in line with a clause in the amended law requiring a review after three years. Currently, defamation can result in a prison term of up to one year, a maximum fine of 300,000 yen ($2,100), or lighter penalties including detention. Public pressure for the law grew after Hana Kimura, a 22-year-old professional wrestler and cast member of the Netflix reality show "Terrace House," reportedly died by suicide in 2020 following a barrage of hateful messages on social media. According to the Justice Ministry, fines have been imposed in about 90 cases over the three years since the law came into effect, but no instances of imprisonment or short-term detention have been confirmed during that period. The National Police Agency, meanwhile, said the number of online abuse and defamation cases increased from 52 in 2022 to 75 in 2023 and 100 in 2024. During parliamentary deliberations on the legal amendment, some lawmakers voiced concern that harsher penalties could discourage legitimate online criticism of politicians and public officials. As a result, ruling and opposition parties agreed to include a supplementary clause requiring a review after three years, with input from experts.
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
5 Years On, Defamation Still Pesters Reality Show Performers
News from Japan Society May 23, 2025 08:30 (JST) Tokyo, May 23 (Jiji Press)--Some Japanese reality show cast members are still pestered with defamation five years after professional wrestler Hana Kimura, who appeared on popular show "Terrace House," took her own life after a flood of defamatory comments on social media. Reality shows are still popular in Japan. Television broadcasters and online streaming services have taken steps to support and protect cast members, but defamation does not stop. Recently, a man in his 20s who participated in such a show was hit by the spread of fake information about him. He said, "I felt like my whole life was denied and I had a hole in my heart." The man joined an audition program as a contestant to fulfill his childhood dream. He became the subject of rumors that falsely claimed he was in a relationship with a woman, which were based on a social media post by an anonymous account. The post went viral immediately. He was the target of heartless words from program viewers who believed the false information. Some messages even sounded like murder threats. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Probe accuses ex J-pop star Nakai of sexual assault
An independent panel investigating allegations against an J-pop megastar-turned-TV host accused him on Monday of sexual violence against a Fuji Televsision employee, saying the company's handling of the matter amounted to harassment of the employee. A leading Japanese tabloid magazine reported in December that Fuji TV's celebrity presenter Masahiro Nakai had performed a sexual act without a woman's consent. The accusations led to Nakai being dropped from his shows on multiple networks as well as a mass exit of advertisers from Fuji TV and the resignation of the private channel's bosses. No legal charges have been brought against Nakai, but an independent probe commissioned by Fuji TV to discern what happened reported its findings on Monday. "We concluded that the woman was sexually assaulted by Nakai," lawyer Akira Takeuchi, who heads the panel, told reporters. "We also think what happened was not a private matter between two people, but an extension of work," Takeuchi added. The 52-year-old Nakai, who was interviewed during the probe, reportedly paid the woman 90 million yen ($570,000) over the incident in 2023, and the pair signed a non-disclosure agreement. Nakai -- a former member of the boy band SMAP, which swept charts across Asia in the 1990s and 2000s -- announced his retirement from showbusiness in late January. "I alone am responsible for everything" and "sincerely apologise", he said at the time. He had previously issued a statement saying some of what had been reported was "different from the facts". The panel's 300-page report also said that Fuji TV's handling of the case appeared to be in favour of the superstar and amounted to secondary harassement of the employee. The woman left the company last year after being temporarily hospitalised, the report said. It criticised what it described as the practice of Fuji TV to organise social gatherings to which people are invited based on their gender, age and appearance -- namely young female presenters and staff. "We sincerely apologise to the victim women for the distress they have experienced as a result of the company's inadequate relief measures," President Kenji Shimizu told a news conference on Monday after the probe results. Shimizu also noted that the woman's "supervisors, from the director to the then president, did not regard it as a human rights issue". Takeuchi said "Fuji TV didn't learn from two incidents" -- the suicide of a participant from the "Terrace House" reality TV show, and multiple accusations of sexual assault levied at the late founder of the boy band management empire Johnny & Associates. Johnny & Associates, which has since changed its name, admitted in 2023 that its late founder Johnny Kitagawa had sexually assaulted teenage boys and young men for decades. nf/kaf/dhw
