Japanese star Hana Kimura has passed away

By Harrison - May 23, 2020

We are deeply saddened to share the news that Stardom’s Hana Kimura has passed away on May 23rd at the very young age of 22. The cause of her death is believed to be suicide.

Shortly before her passing, she took to social media and made troubling posts where she revealed she was a victim of cyberbullying. She also showed signs of self-harming. The most recent update on her Instagram story showed a picture of her with her cat, with a caption that read “goodbye” in Japanese.

Hours after the tweets, Stardom confirmed her death.

Stardom fans, We are very sorry to report that our Hana Kimura has passed away. Please be respectful and allow some time for things to process, and keep your thoughts and prayers with her family and friends. We appreciate your support during this difficult time

Kimura started her professional wrestling journey in 2005, but her career truly started in 2016. She was one of the top wrestlers in Stardom and also made her mark in other Japanese promotions. Hana Kimura was also a part of the women’s tag team match during the opening of NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 14.

She was also the winner of Stardom’s 2019 Fighting Spirit Award and also one of the cast members of Japanese reality TV show Terrace House.

Cyberbullying is a serious offence and it should be taken seriously, now more than ever.

Stardom fans,

We are very sorry to report that our Hana Kimura has passed away.

Please be respectful and allow some time for things to process, and keep your thoughts and prayers with her family and friends.

We appreciate your support during this difficult time.

— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) May 23, 2020

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You think it’s in her contract that she has to spend X amount of hours every day tweeting and replying to DMs? Doubtful.
Keith Learmonth

Part of her job involves engaging with her fans.
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As I said, it’s different when it’s online. I wish she would have just disconnected from online, but for whatever reason, she didn’t.
Keith Learmonth

What if it’s 20,000 people from all over the world sending threats of violence and abuse, though?
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I know it’s different when it’s online and the person isn’t in the area, but my kids will be taught that if they are bullied at school, tell the person to stop. If it happens again, get the teacher involved. If it happens a third time, sock the person in the face. If the teacher tries to punish my kid, then the teacher has me to deal with. The teacher failed to do their job, so my kid took care of the problem.
CC

Any bullying should come with actions, but cyberbullying is even worse. Constantly attacking people, usually in groups is just the work of cowards.
CC

sadly with the world wide web, she would be open to fans from all over the world
F. Loyd B. Pippin

I’m glad that places like South Korea are trying to make laws that will put people in jail if they cyberbully people and it triggers a suicide. But there are too many people who have taken their lives over this stuff. This happened twice during my last trip to Korea. Everything is silent in the morning, and then things go back to normal in the afternoon. It’s sick to think about how little value there is on human life.
jgdjgdklj

I thought Japanese fans would be more polite :/ Awful news.
CC

Things like this just suck. 22 is no age to die.