One thing that I found surprising since I came back to Japan is that bullying occurs insistently one person on the internet. I can understand if people attack who committed a crime or did a antisocial behavior, but there are a lot of people who were attacked without any reason, just with idle rumors or their visual image.
For instance, my favorite pop artist Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is one of them. She is popular for her outrageous fashion and her promotion video with her view of the world, but at the same time, she has become a target of abuse on the internet. “She lip-syncs and she’s wanna-be artist" “She is promiscuous women see with various men” are typical comments. However, if you check throughly, you will realize easily that these information are not true, and her music is a techno pop produced by Yasutaka Nakata and her voice is one part of instruments. Also, she is single and she has been going steady with her partner and she has never been unloyal. It’s just bogus information generated by gossip magazines.
There are too many people who attack one particular individual on the internet to make people believe everything the silly news said. Furthermore, it is relentless. This is a typical pattern that mass media sets on one particular person up as the villain by picking flaws and caviling to get more traffic and to manipulate those who read the information.
When I was a child, media meant TV or paper print like newspapers or magazines and we couldn't check the news was true or not. However, no one believed these gossip indulgers were true. Now, we can check them easily on the internet whether it is in fact true. I want to know why do people believe material without checking first?
Besides, I have always believed that Japanese people are very considerate, deep thinking before expressing their opinions and choosing their words carefully. Yet, I can’t understand what happening with Japanese people that they are ambiguous with the information.
Perhaps this is because Japanese people who can’t express what they want to say in their daily life feel the need to burn off their stress? It’s not so important that information is true or not, it’s OK if it’s amusing for them, I guess?
It’s the other side of typical Japanese character-modesty and consideration that have been praised for a long time, hasn't it? However, I think it’s unfair that people fling harsh words at one individual anonymously.
I personally think that we should think more deeply before we express our opinion and we should select words that are not discriminating.
I hope that Japanese people will be recognized as modest people even if its from the internet.
p.s. She expresses what she thinking about her difficulties that I described in this essay in her new song called “Mondai girl”
Written in Jan 2015
日本語版
日本に戻って違和感を感じていることの一つがネットでの個人を執拗に叩く行為です。反社会的な事をした人ならまだわかるが、いわれもない噂やイメージなどで叩かれる人も多い。
例えば私がファンでもあるきゃりーちゃんもその一人。その奇抜なファッションや
独特の世界観のPVで人気者になった一方でネットでは叩かれまくっています。
叩かれているネタとしては「口パクなのにアーティスト気取りだ」「いろんな男と付き合ってだらしない」てなかんじである。ちょっと調べれば中田ヤスタカのテクノポップでは「声も楽器の一つ」だってこともわかるし、彼女は独身で一人の男と付き合っていているだけで、浮気もしている事実はない。色んな男と付き合ってるというのはゴシップ誌のガゼネタってのもすぐわかる。
ネットで流れてるニュースを鵜呑みにして、特定の個人を叩くという図式が
あまりにも多い。しかもそれが結構しつこく続く。マスメディアが話題を集める（アクセス数を増やす）ために特定の人を悪者に仕立てあげ、粗探しや揚げ足取りをしてネットユーザーを洗脳するというパターンだ。
昔はメディアといえばテレビか紙媒体でそれが事実かどうかなんてわからなかった
が「テレビのワイドショーやスポーツ新聞のゴシップネタなんて誰も信用ない」という風潮があったように思えた。今はネットでちょっと調べれば事実ではないということもすぐにわかるのになぜそれをしないで一次情報を鵜呑みにするんだろうか？
あと日本人ってもっと思慮深くて発言する前によく考え言葉を選ぶ能力に長けていると信じていたのだがネットで個人を匿名で罵倒する様はいったい日本人はどうなってしまったのかと思う。
普段言いたいこと言えない日本人がそのストレスをネットで発散している？
それが事実かどうかなんて重要じゃなくて、ネタとして面白ければいいのかな？
遠慮、気遣いといった今まで日本人が賞賛されてきた文化の裏返しなのかもしれません。しかし匿名で安全なとこから言葉の暴力を個人に浴びせるのはどう考えてもアンフェア。
個人的にはもう少しよく調べてよく考えてから言葉を選んで意見して欲しいと思う。
ネットの中でも日本人は礼儀正しいねと思われたいものです。
追記：彼女の出した新曲「問題ガール」はまさにこのことについて歌詞で彼女の悩みや葛藤を表現しています。
