Following popular concerns about cyberbullying, the Japanese parliament passed legislation that punishes "online insults" with imprisonment.
According to the amendment to the criminal code, which will enter into force this summer, people convicted of online insults can be jailed for up to a year or fined 300,000 yen (about 250,000 lek).
Seiho Cho, a criminal lawyer in Japan, warned (via CNN) that the new law did not provide any classification of what constituted insult.
The issue of cyberbullying and cyberbullying has gained prominence in recent years. The new law in Japan was prompted by the death of 22-year-old Hana Kimura, who was involved in the sport of wrestling and was known for "Terrace House" on Netflix.He passed away from suicide in 2020. apparently the internet abuse she had been facing for a long time.
Shortly after her death, Japanese officials addressed the threat of cyberbullying and vowed to speed up discussions on the relevant legislation.
Kimura's mother, former wrestler Kyoko Kimura, campaigned for stronger anti-bullying laws after her daughter's death and set up a non-profit organization called Remember Hana to raise awareness of cyberbullying.
