Japanese Celebrity Hamasaki Maria Found Dead at Home... Investigation into Possible Link to 'Mask-related Malicious Comments'

Japanese broadcaster Hamasaki Maria. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] An incident occurred in Japan where a female broadcaster is presumed to have taken her own life after suffering from malicious comments. It is reported that this broadcaster had been receiving malicious comments since April after suspicions arose that she went out without wearing a mask despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to local Japanese media such as 'NHK' on the 31st (local time), broadcaster Hamasaki Maria, who appeared on the 'AbemaTV' variety show 'Ikinari Marriage,' was found dead at her home in Tokyo on the 26th.

Reports state that Japanese police are investigating the case as a possible suicide, considering the discovery of drugs at the scene and the absence of external injuries. However, no suicide note was found.

Hamasaki Maria recently became embroiled in controversy after suspicions arose that she went out without wearing a mask during the COVID-19 situation. She had been posting photos of her daily life on social networking services (SNS), and in April, she uploaded photos without a mask despite the COVID-19 situation, which led to a barrage of malicious comments from some netizens.

Earlier in May, a similar incident occurred where female professional wrestler Kimura Hana, who appeared on the Japanese private broadcaster Fuji TV's reality show 'Terrace House,' suffered from continuous malicious comments and ultimately took her own life.

Following these incidents, the Japanese government is considering simplifying the procedure for disclosing the personal information of perpetrators who post malicious comments if requested by the victims, and is promoting legal amendments to curb malicious comments.

Meanwhile, Hamasaki Maria gained public recognition by appearing in season 4 of the Japanese reality program 'Ikinari Marriage,' which shows a couple meeting, getting married on the first day, and living their honeymoon for a month.

She also ran a business selling Korean cosmetics and personally served as a model.

※ If you need professional help for difficult issues such as depression, you can receive 24-hour counseling by calling the Suicide Prevention Hotline 1393, Lifeline 1588-9191, or Youth Hotline 1388.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.