After Reality Star’s Death, Japan Vows to Rip the Mask Off Online Hate www.nytimes.com

TOKYO — During the last weeks of Hana Kimura’s life, a steady stream of hate washed over her social media accounts.
On Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, anonymous posters attacked her appearance, her outspoken behavior and especially her role on “Terrace House,” a popular Japanese reality show where some viewers saw her as a villain.
The Japanese authorities pledged to move quickly to rein in internet trolls, who hide behind a cloak of anonymity to share malicious posts that are sometimes misogynistic or racist.
But free-speech advocates fear that measures making it harder for people to hide their identities could chill the country’s rising online activism, which has become an increasingly powerful check on government power.
“There are conflicts with freedom of speech and rights and privacy that are extremely thorny,” said Ayaka Shiomura, a former TV personality and current member of the upper house of Japan’s Parliament who has herself been the target of cyberbullying.