A Line Of Japanese Artists Suicide Amid The COVID-19 Pandemic

JAKARTA - Japan's entertainment industry has been hit by deep grief amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Several well-known public figures have died amidst this difficult situation.

Hana Kimura, a wrestler who is also known as a Terrace House player on Netflix, is one of the Japanese public figures who shocked the public. He died on 23 May 2020 under suspicion of committing suicide.

Besides that, Yuko Takeuchi died on September 28, 2020. He reportedly died by hanging himself. In fact, Takeuchi just gave birth to her child in early 2020.

Takashi Fujiki, the actor who also committed suicide left a letter saying he did not have the confidence to act.

Suicide is one of the highest cases in Japan. Launching JapanNews, the number of suicides in Japan reached 2,153 in October where the pandemic is still ongoing.

The Japan Actor's Union, an organization for managing public figures in Japan, conducted a survey of 2,500 actors and voice actors in early November.

The survey was to find out if they had ever thought about leaving the world because of their work. 48 people answered yes.

Work pressure is the main reason why they want to end their life. Apart from being emotionally disturbed and abused, working hours that are not appropriate are also a major factor.

“Celebrities are always under close scrutiny when on social media, and when they experience stress such as restricting food or sleep, they lack the relationships or people to discuss these issues. This means that their anxiety is getting worse and worse, they can commit suicide, ”said the psychiatrist who shared his opinion.

These words may remind a little of Hana Kimura, a wrestler who joined the reality series Terrace House: Tokyo from Netflix. The controversy began when the January 2020 episode aired Kimura arguing with his housemate at Terrace House, Kai Edward Kobayashi.

Kobayashi broke his wrestling costume and Kimura became so emotional that he hit Kobayashi's hat and fell. This attitude caused Kimura to be dogged by comments and messages of hatred continuously.

Even though his rating was upgraded, the harassment against Kimura never ended. Until finally Hana Kimura felt stressed and chose to end her life in the midst of her popularity. He had said goodbye through his social media before being found lifeless at his residence.

Later, it was discovered that the Terrace House production team asked Kobayashi to wash Kimura's wrestling costume on purpose in order to add to the impression of drama in the event.

Being a public figure in Japan is not easy. Various factors are behind the difficulty of being a good actor and actress.

Harassment, mental health, and public comment are problems that a public figure in Japan always faces. They are judged to have to show a positive and good image, so that when one time they don't look like that, they are seen as inappropriate stars and society tries to knock them down.

Mental health in the form of worry, stress, and overthinking are the things most closely related to the COVID-19 pandemic. But stereotypes and shyness in discussing mental health in Japan are barriers to treatment.

"Everyone's mental health is in trouble, especially in a situation like this. Given that this industry is filled with media attention and other reasons, there is no need to be surprised to know that many people are experiencing mental health, "said Vickie Skorji - director of TELL Lifeline, quoted from Variety.

Miyuki Takamatsu, CEO of Free Stone Productions who works on Public Relations, thinks artist management must be involved. “They can't express themselves freely in their personal life, politics and other things. And artist management is the most basic structure for their artists. "

According to Takamatsu, an artist must have connections and people who can pay attention to their condition. When the artist finds it difficult, they also find people to discuss with, one of which is the management who manages their schedule.

Japan Actor's Union is also expected to build a mental health service to protect public figures in Japan in living their lives in the entertainment industry. Society also needs to understand that an artist is a human being who has mistakes like society in general so that they don't need to be scorned or judged.