The government plans to move quickly to stem the “lawless” nature of the internet, where vicious and relentless online attacks apparently led to the suicide of reality TV show star Hana Kimura.

Communications minister Sanae Takaichi said on May 26 that an expert panel would accelerate discussions on possible legal revisions that would make it easier to obtain information from internet service providers about individuals who post anonymous messages that threaten, defame and libel others.

“Regardless of the method used, defaming others anonymously is a cowardly and unforgivable act,” Takaichi said.

Kimura, 22, who was also a professional wrestler, came under attack online concerning an incident involving her and another star on the “Terrace House” reality TV show.

She had posted messages indicating she was being bullied online, including one comment that told her to “disappear.”

Tokyo police are treating her death on May 23 as a suicide.

Other celebrities quickly criticized posters who hide behind the anonymity of the internet to target individuals with vicious messages.

Yu Darvish, a starting pitcher with the Chicago Cubs, described what Kimura endured as “a mass lynching.”

Actress Yumi Ishikawa said she received a number of anonymous posts last year after she started the “#KuToo” movement urging the government to ban companies from requiring female employees to wear heels.

Some of the posts threatened Ishikawa with death and rape.

When she blocked such posters, they apparently set up new accounts to continue harassing her.

“It was very painful for me because I felt society as a whole was attacking me,” Ishikawa said.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ panel of experts was set up in April to consider if revisions were needed for laws that oversee internet service providers.

Currently, individuals seeking compensation for online abuse must go through a process that is both time-consuming and costly. The first step is trying to identify the individuals responsible.

Victims must file a lawsuit in court asking website operators, such as Twitter, to provide records of the IP addresses of the posters as well as the time and date of the questionable messages. That process normally takes three to four months.

Once those records are obtained, the victim must file a second lawsuit against the internet service provider or mobile phone carrier asking for the name and address of the individual who sent the posts revealed through the first lawsuit.

This second stage can take six months to a year to complete.

After obtaining a real name, the victim can then sue for damages.

The ministry panel’s topics of discussion include: asking internet service providers to voluntarily disclose information without having the victims go to court; increasing the type of information that is disclosed; and dealing with internet service providers operating outside Japan.

The panel is expected to come up with its proposals by summer.

The ministry established the panel because its consultation center that handles calls from individuals who have received hurtful messages on the internet has seen a sharp increase in grievances.

In fiscal 2019, the center received 5,198 calls, about a fourfold increase over fiscal 2010.

Yuichi Nakazawa, a lawyer who has handled many cases involving defamatory internet posts, said victims can ask website operators to delete hurtful messages, but the process is a difficult one.

In the first half of 2019, Twitter in Japan received 5,144 court requests to delete messages, but it complied in only 197 cases.

“The standards for deletion are very strict due to concerns about freedom of expression,” Nakazawa said.

Kimura’s suicide has prompted a group of lawmakers within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to set up a committee to discuss how to deal with malicious internet posts.

“The internet has become lawless territory and (defamatory comments) remain there forever,” said Junko Mihara, an Upper House member who chairs the committee.

However, others are urging caution about making the identification process easier because companies or politicians could use such measures to silence criticism from anonymous posters.

Ryoji Mori, another lawyer knowledgeable about rules and regulations in the information technology sector, cited the need to find a proper balance between protecting confidentiality of communications and helping victims.

He said that the transmission of information that is in the public interest must not be hindered, and that any measure adopted should also be effective against overseas service providers.

An organization of social media operators, including Facebook and Twitter, issued a statement on May 26 saying member companies would more thoroughly implement bans on harassing or defamatory posts.

The organization plans to establish a special committee to consider what additional measures are needed.

(This article was written by Erina Ito, Masayoshi Hayashi, Keishi Nishimura and Tomoya Fujita.)