She officially joined Stardom, a women's professional wrestling group based in Tokyo, in 2019, and went on to win several championships and tournaments. Bye.". In the wake of cast member Hana Kimura's death last weekend, Fuji Television announced the current season of Terrace House, available on Netflix in the west, has been canceled. “We are very sorry that comments appearing on social media have become such a problem,” she said. She was 22 years old. One cast member said she never received any specific instructions. “What seems to matter most is the role of social institutions like the family, community and school in providing instruction and education in areas like empathy and resilience.”. "We are very sorry to report that our Hana Kimura has passed away," read the tweet. Hana Kimura, aged 22, was a rising star in Japan's pro wrestling scene. Terrace House: Netflix reality show star Hana Kimura dies aged 22 Fans of Netflix’s hugely popular reality show, Terrace House, are shocked and devastated after the sudden death of one of its stars. “They put a lot of pressure on me to do things on the show — I was cast to fit a certain role.”. Hana Kimura at the Women's Pro-Wrestling Stardom No People Gate event in Tokyo, Japan, on March 8. Credit... Netflix. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also expressed his condolences for Kimura's death on Monday, saying, "It is important to improve literacy on the internet so that users won't use comments to hurt others with slander. But “Terrace House” was always more complicated than it appeared. Critics point out that the structure of “Terrace House” may have contributed to the online attacks against Kimura. ", "I also was slandered after joining Terrace House, and was hurt," she said, The season's upcoming episodes, which were set to air this week and next, have been suspended, said Netflix Japan. Government authorities have wrestled for years with how to balance online abuse with freedom of expression. (Netflix, which continues to carry existing episodes, including those featuring Kimura, declined to comment for this article.). Kimura, a cast member on the latest season of the Netflix show "Terrace House," died on Saturday at the age of 22, confirmed World Wonder Ring Stardom, the … It was all for someone else’s monetary benefit.”, It’s common knowledge that reality shows are heavily produced and edited to create narratives and drama, but many fans believed that the artfully banal “Terrace House” was realer than most. After Kimura’s suicide, they renewed the push to punish cyberbullying, and on June 4 an Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry panel proposed that social media operators should be able to be compelled to disclose the names and phone numbers of people who make defamatory posts. When asked if they were aware that Hana Kimura may have become depressed by the outbreak of online comments, the Fuji TV representative said the company would not comment out of concern for the bereaved family. “Under that sort of pressure, it’s hard to say what you want to say, especially if you’re a pure girl like Hana,” he said. "I love it. In a news conference earlier this month, Ryunosuke Endo, the president of Fuji TV, said that show only depicts scenes that accurately represent the feelings of the cast. “It could hurt you or the people you love.” She is currently working on starting a new nonprofit organization in her daughter’s name to help people cope with cyberbullying. “Commentary on the Kardashians is more lighthearted,” a different cast member said. Shohei Uemura, a popular cast member from the “Opening New Doors” season, which ran from 2017-18, credits living in the house as a source of growth for him. While some former cast members stand behind “Terrace House” as an honest, transparent look into their time and experience in the house, others say that the show was just as manipulated as its crasser reality TV cousins. News of Kimura’s death was … Her death inspired a number of tributes from those in the global wrestling community and beyond. Since cast members tended to have a more indirect and less confrontational approach to conflict resolution, as is common in Japan, the outburst likely seemed like climactic drama to many viewers. "We are very sorry to report that our Hana Kimura has passed away," Stardom said, The organization didn't provide further information on her death, adding, It also said it would "work on the emotional well-being of our players. Article continues below advertisement. It is impossible to know why someone would take her own life. foreboding tweets and Instagram stories preceded her death. “She was really happy when she first joined the show,” Kyoko Kimura said. "There are no words that could possibly heal this wound," said UFC Hall of Famer and former WWE women's champion, "I didn't personally know Hana Kimura, but it's still very painful to learn about what happened," said the WWE's four-time women's world champion. When he declined to go on a trip to Kyoto with some of the other housemates, he said that first one production staff member, then two, and eventually more than four all met with him to convince him to go. ", Shortly before her death was reported, Kimura. “Don’t think this isn’t relevant to you,” she added. Kimura came across as another charmingly relatable addition to the “Terrace House” cast, despite a short but storied wrestling career that included multiple championships and awards. But even those who enjoyed their time on the show acknowledged that the passionate fan base could be cruel. When Fukuyama first appeared on the show, for example, panelists made multiple overtly sexual comments about her. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. According to reporting from Variety, Japanese communications minister Sanae Takaichi said changes to the law could be enacted before the end of the year. The effect could be exacerbated by the panel of commentators, who over the years have been criticized for their occasionally snide assessments and for cheering on aggressive attempts by male cast members to kiss women, which in some cases have crossed the line from romantic pursuit to harassment. Hana Kimura, a professional wrestler in Japan, joined the cast of the hit reality show “Terrace House” in September because, as she said, she wanted “to find a wonderful romance.”. News of Kimura's death sent shockwaves through Japan and the broader "Terrace House" fan base, with many people pointing to the deluge of abuse Kimura faced from social media users in recent months. Thank you everyone, I love you. “Terrace House” is a relative rarity in Japan television for casting multiracial and occasionally non-Japanese participants.