A part of the revised criminal law came into effect on the 7th, and insults that apply to acts that insulted people are newly added with imprisonment, imprisonment, and fines, and for malicious acts such as false accusation on SNS. Dealing with it will be tougher than ever.
Among the revised criminal law passed by the previous Diet, a provision to raise the upper limit of the statutory penalties for insults, which is applied to acts that openly insult people such as accusation on SNS, came into effect on the 7th.
Specifically, the statutory penalties so far have been "detention for less than 30 days" or "fines for less than 10,000 yen", but the upper limit has been raised to "imprisonment / imprisonment for up to 1 year" and "300,000 yen". With the addition of the following fines, dealing with malicious acts will be more stringent than ever.
In addition, as the upper limit of statutory penalties is raised, the statute of limitations will be extended from one year to three years, so in addition to the deterrent effect of crime, it will take time to identify the perpetrator in the investigation of posts on SNS. It is also expected to have the effect of spending the required time.
The Ministry of Justice first issued a notification to the public prosecutors offices nationwide, noting that legitimate expressions such as fair commentary will not be punished as before, and demanding that appropriate decisions be made according to individual cases.
In the background, the damage caused by accusation on the Internet and SNS is getting worse.
Behind the stricter punishment for insults is the fact that the damage caused by accusation on the Internet and SNS is becoming more serious.
Hana Kimura, a professional wrestler who appeared on a commercial TV program, died at the young age of 22 after suffering a false accusation on SNS.
This issue has accelerated discussions on strengthening countermeasures, and in April last year, the "Revised Provider Liability Limitation Law" was enacted to create a new legal procedure to promptly identify the person who posted.
On the other hand, the weight of the sentence for the person who posted it was "detention for less than 30 days" or "penalty for less than 10,000 yen", which was the lightest in the criminal law, so "it does not match the actual situation of the damage and deterrence". The Ministry of Justice has been considering a review.
Hana Kimura's mother, Kyoko, who has been advocating the need for stricter punishment, said, "I have a strong feeling that I'm finally here. I hope that it will lead to more detailed legislation. "
However, some are concerned that the stricter punishment for insults will threaten the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution.
Following the revision of the law, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations = Japan Federation of Bar Associations said, "It must be clarified that insults do not apply to legitimate expressions. Arrests and detentions for insults do not suppress or atrophy the acts of expression. The need must be determined particularly rigorously. "