The death last weekend of professional wrestler and “Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020” participant Hana Kimura left social media in a tailspin. Within hours of women’s wrestling agency World Wonder Wing Stardom releasing a statement on Kimura’s death on Twitter, much of the internet felt blindsided by the news. Tributes poured in from around the world.
It also prompted discussion on an array of related topics: mental health in Japan, the ethics of reality TV and the responsibility that entertainment companies have in monitoring the well-being of those they’re working with. “Terrace House,” which was once celebrated for offering a different take on the reality format via a more relaxed approach, suddenly found itself open to a series of probing questions.
In Japan, the issue of cyberbullying has emerged as one of the biggest talking points surrounding Kimura’s death. The wrestler apparently committed suicide after receiving countless spiteful messages on social media sites and this prompted a number of people to share their own experiences online.