Japan: Online bullying punishable with 1 year in prison

Following the rising public concern of cyberbullying because of the death of a reality show star, Japan's parlament has made online insults punishable with up to one year in prison, or be fined 300,000 yen (about $2,200). Supporters say the law was needed to stop online bullying. The law is a significant increase to the old one, with stated a detention of 30 days and a fine of up to 10,000 yen ($75). A Japan - based criminal laywer, Seiho Cho, said the law does not state what a insult is. Cho said: "There needs to be a guideline that makes a distinction on what qualifies as an insult, for example, at the moment, even if someone calls the leader of Japan an idiot, then maybe under the revised law that could be classed as an insult." The danger of cyberbullying has gained attention in the past years, also because of the suicide of the reality show star Hana Kimura. Kimura was known for acting in the Netflix show " Terrace House". She died of suicide in 2020. Many pointed out the online harrasment against Kimura. Kyoko Kimura, the mother of Hana Kimura, said: "I want people to know that cyberbullying is a crime"