In Japan, insulting someone on the Internet can be worth a year in prison

Japan's parliament has just passed a new law against online harassment.

As

reported on Tuesday, June 14, insulting a user is now punishable by twelve months in prison and a fine of more than 2,000 euros.

Until now, Japanese law provided for 30 days' imprisonment and a fine of 70 euros for perpetrators of insults on the Internet.

But after the suicide of a famous 22-year-old wrestler, Hana Kimura, victim of cyberbullying, the government decided to toughen the sanctions.

What are the consequences for freedom of expression?

However, this new law raises fears of abuses for freedom of expression.

Indeed, the Japanese Penal Code has a rather vague definition of what constitutes an insult.

It evokes "a public attack" on others, without specifying specific facts, which differentiates this notion from defamation.

In order to assess the real effects of this new law on freedom of expression, the Japanese parliament has therefore planned a reassessment of it in three years.

By way of comparison, insulting an Internet user in France is considered a public insult and can lead to a fine of 12,000 euros.

World

Japan: A gynecologist allows women who could not have an abortion to give birth under X

Justice

Five internet users sentenced for the cyberbullying of ex-journalist and hostage Nicolas Hénin

• World

• Japan

• Cyber ​​harassment

• Harassment

• Insult

• Law

• Penal Code