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Bullying has been a problem in Japan, as in many countries, for quite sometime–and like many other countries, cyberbullying is the latest permutation of the issue. While cyberbullies in the west may be using Facebook or Twitter, it seems that the focal point of digital harassment in Japan is the messaging app Line. Regardless of the medium used, there’s no doubt that bullying is traumatic for those on the receiving end.

Sadly, despite numerous public education campaigns and class lectures, bullying isn’t simply going to disappear. Perhaps the deeper issue is one of empathy–we like to think that a bit more understanding would help reduce the problem. And a recent viral webpage does just that, showing how painful it is to be on the receiving end of digital harassment. However, the surprise ending is what really got people in Japan talking.

The website is a near perfect recreation of the standard Line messaging window. Line allows conversations not only between two people, but groups including three or even more people. Once the site loads, a conversation begins, and visitors are given a glimpse of the “live” conversation between three girls: Akina, on the right, and Rei and Honoka on the left. Though supposedly friends, it turns out that Rei and Honoka actually despise Akina and their chat rapidly declines into name-calling and some of the harshest digital bullying we can imagine. We’ve added translations of their messages into the screenshots below. This is not an entire recreation of their conversation, but rather an approximate outline. Nonetheless, it should be easy to imagine how Akina feels as the conversation progresses.

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After getting poor Akina to agree that she’s better off dead, Honoka invites a slew of other Line users, who fill up the conversation with comments telling Akina to die. It’s downright painful to read, even if you know it’s all fictitious.

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Finally, Akina gives into the pressure and vicious comments…

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The final messages from Akina are her saying she’s scared but ready to die before jumping off the roof and “norou,” which can be translated as “I curse you!!” If you were superstitious, you might even believe in Akina’s curse or think that she’s not just talking about the people telling her to die but also the people who simply stood back and watched it happen. It’s almost as if no one is innocent when they let bullies get away with tormenting others. You might even think she has a grudge like a horror film…

 

 

AAAIIIIIIEE!!!!

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As it turns out, the whole website is actually a creepypasta “joke” site. The gruesome image above is what appears, along with a startling–some might even say horrifying–“scream from beyond the grave,” at the very end of the chat. Presumably, that’s the ghost of Akina, come back for revenge on the bullies who tormented and drove her to suicide.

While not everyone appreciates a good scare, this isn’t exactly a new idea. Trick or fake websites have existed for as long as bored kids have had too much time on their hands. At least this site gives something back to society, as the final screen explains that while the site is a joke, the reality is that bullying is a very serious problem that we need to eliminate. We’re not sure how scaring the piss out of people helps reduce bullying, but we’d be happy if it works!

You can check out the site for yourself to get a feel for the bone-chilling ending here. Obviously, the text is all in Japanese, but the pants-wetting fright at the end is understandable regardless of the language. This might be one link you won’t want to click when alone at night though. Unless you enjoy insomnia…

Sources: Chatlog, ITMedia News, Yahoo! Japan News
Images: Chatlog, Ajajashita