Japanese politicians are looking to expand their laws related to cyberbullying following the passing of Japanese female wrestler, Hana Kimura. The reason for this is because some reports alleged that the wrestling superstar had committed suicide after being criticized for her looks and behavior on a Japanese reality TV show called Terrace House; a show that was subsequently cancelled following the news of Kimura’s suicide.

According to Yahoo! News, communications minister Sanae Takaichi mentioned that they have plans on getting a bill up and out by the end of the year…

“It’s necessary to properly implement procedures to disclose information on senders in order to curb online abuses and rescue victims,”

The purpose of the parliamentary expansion is to identify people classified as “cyberbullies” and reduce the presence of cyberbullying.

This would include having social networks handing over the real-life identities of users accused of cyberbullying, such as their real name, number, and contact information. This would apply to the Japanese renditions of Facebook, Twitter, and a service called Line.

What is worrying is that this measure seems to have gained support across the various political factions in Japan, with Yahoo! News explaining…

“[Takaichi’s] statement followed a meeting between Diet (parliament) affairs chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Hiroshi Moriyama, and Jun Azumi of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party. They agreed to clear the way for a discussion in parliament on the topic.”

From the outset this looks like a power-grab from politicians to further invade on the privacy of users, and strip away the freedoms of the common people.

While the article notes that the politicians stated that the goal wasn’t to invade on the privacy of users, this measure – if it does come to pass – certainly looks like a way for politicians to invade on the privacy of users.

Right now the measure is only in the talks, but we’ll see if they move forward with the bill to prevent cyberbullying later this year.

Even still, the best solution to non-important things like “cyberbullying” is just to turn off the computer.

(Thanks for the news tip InquisitorDust)