A flood of slander against Haruka Ayase may be considered defamation
The Internet is full of slanderous comments about actress Haruka Ayase, (36), who has been hospitalized after contracting the new coronavirus. "The comments are unfounded, as if Ayase-san was given special treatment and hospitalization, such as "she was able to be hospitalized because she is a senior citizen" and "her agency, Horipro, used money and connections". Are there any legal problems with such statements? We asked an expert for his opinion.
Ayase's corona infection and hospitalization was announced by her office on August 31. Ayase had a fever on August 20 and underwent an antigen test, which was negative. A PCR test on the following day, August 21, was negative. After that, she continued to have fever, so she took a second test for antigen, but it was negative. However, when she took the antigen test again on the 26th, she tested positive. At first, she was treated at home, but due to the symptoms of pneumonia, she was admitted to a hospital in Tokyo
Her office announced on her official website that "she is currently on the road to recovery," but did not elaborate on the extent of her symptoms at the time of her hospitalization. However, the Internet went wild when the news of "news Post Seven", which was the first to report about this case with the title "White shadow on the lung in moderate disease", was posted on the topics of Yahoo!
In the comments section of Yahoo!:
"She's in the hospital because she's a senior citizen."
"I wonder if it was a moderate 1 or 2... if it was a 2, I understand, but if it was a 1, I wonder if there were underlying powers involved..."
"After all it makes you think, You know, famous people, celebrities, they get pretty high priority in the hospital doesn't they?"
"I'm sure it's the result of all the connections, money, and begging that Holipro has done to a number of hospitals."
Some of the posts expressed concern for Ayase's health and regretted the wave of criticism, saying, "It's a terrible world we live in now that hospitalization for moderate illness is being criticized"
Is there a legal problem with such slander based on speculation?
With medical care becoming more and more strained, there have been a series of tragedies reported in which people have died while recuperating at home after hoping to be hospitalized but being unable to do so. However, even though Ayase was hospitalized, there is no evidence that her condition had completely recovered. Some people continue to suffer from the aftereffects of the disease for a long time even after they have completed their medical treatment.
Shimizu Yohei, a lawyer who is familiar with the issue of slander on the Internet and has represented Kimura Hana's mother in the lawsuit she filed against the slanderous postings about the dead pro-wrestler Kimura Hana, said
"I think this phenomenon clearly shows that nothing has changed in the world, despite all the media coverage and debate about Hana-san's case"
He said frankly
Defamation of character under the Penal Code states, "A person who defames a person by openly pointing out facts shall be punished by up to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to 500,000 yen, regardless of the existence of such facts
Shimizu explains
"In the case of defamation, the law requires a 'statement of fact,' that is, a verifiable factual situation. Even if the content is horrible, if it's just a post like, 'Maybe she got preferential treatment because she's a celebrity,' it's not a 'statement of fact,' but a personal opinion, so it doesn't violate the law. However, if you write definitive statements such as "she was hospitalized for special treatment because she is a senior citizen," "the office worked behind the scenes," or "she spent a lot of money," it may be considered defamation as it degrades the social status of the other party. In addition, many of the posts against Ayase and her office seem to be false, but even if the posts are true and not false, depending on how they are written and the content of the expressions, defamation and insult may be recognized."
However, in most cases, first-time offenders are not charged with a crime. Even if you have a criminal record, you will not be sentenced to imprisonment, but rather avergly a fine of 300,000 yen
Furthermore, defamation is a "prosecution" crime, which means that the victim must file a complaint in order to be prosecuted.
"In the entertainment industry, more and more people are speaking out. However, in most cases, it's one person who has been victimized versus many who have been slandering, and it's difficult to respond to all of them. Because of this, the reality is that many people have no choice but to cry themselves to sleep."
It seems like too much of a burden for the victims, but isn't Yahoo! responsible for letting such comments that could violate the law go unchecked in the first place?
There is a law called the "Provider Liability Limitation Law" which states that there is no obligation to constantly monitor such posts. This is based on the assumption that the number of accesses is so large that it is impossible to check all communications. However, as long as Ayase or her office does not request the removal of the comments, they will not, in principle, be held responsible for leaving the comments. The reality is that it is still too "naive" to hold the person who posts the message responsible. With no way of knowing when or who might be exposed to the disease, will it continue to be acceptable to post defamatory comments about hospitalized celebrities? (AERAdot. editorial staff)
[+10,488, -976] ≫ "It's a terrible world we live in now that hospitalization for moderate illness is being criticized"
This comment seems to be true, and I feel that this corona disaster is causing more and more people to think only of themselves and to attack the little things of others
[+8,323, -861] In the first place, we don't know the proper circumstances.
Some ordinary people are hospitalized for moderate illnesses, so Ayase could have been hospitalized at the right time.
I think she was hospitalized because she had pneumonia while she was recovering at home
[+5,810, -620] The official announcement from the office had detailed information on how she was hospitalized, but the article that was published in the weekly magazine before that was like she could have been hospitalized immediately. So that article might have had a lot of critical comments. I'm not sure if it's okay for a weekly magazine to write an article about something that the office hasn't announced yet
[+2,320, -265] One of my seniors at work tested positive for the disease, but he told me that the public health center desperately tried to find a place where he could be hospitalized and was able to do so.
He said that he was really lucky because he became seriously ill a few days later and could not be contacted for a long time. It's true that there are people who can't be hospitalized and die while recuperating at home, but it's absolutely wrong to blame Ayase for that.
If you think it's justice to slander Ayase as a senior citizen or a celebrity who was able to be hospitalized, you should reconsider your attitude
[+1,183, -152] The Nikkan Gendai, as usual, stirred up the controversy by writing an article titled "The Internet is on fire! In fact, she took repeated PCR and antigen tests and came back negative. In the meantime, he was hospitalized because he had symptoms of pneumonia as well as fever.
[+1,132, -213] Ayase and the people involved read the comments on the internet, I think they will suffer tremendous mental damage.
There are more and more comments filled with righteousness, anger and hatred, "I love Ayase, but this is not right and unacceptable," anger at politics and medicine for those who cannot be hospitalized and the assumption that she was able to be hospitalized specially because she is a celebrity.