On May 23, 2020, cast member Hana Kimura died by suicide while isolating at her own home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before her death, Kimura shared a picture of herself and her cat on Instagram with the words, "I love you, have a happy long life. Sorry." She also tweeted hours before her death: "Every day, I receive nearly 100 honest opinions and I cannot deny that I get hurt." Several notes were discovered in her apartment, with one addressed to her mother. Kimura's death led to a widespread conversation about cyberbullying messages she faced from Terrace House viewers, a situation that escalated after the episode "Case of the Costume Incident," which included a scene where she was involved in a fight with cast member Kai Kobayashi over him accidentally washing her wrestling costume. Hana Kimura's mother
Kyoko Kimura claimed in weekly magazine
Shūkan Bunshun that Hana was pressured by the staff to stage the fight with Kobayashi. In July 2020, she filed a complaint with the Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization claiming the producers edited the program to misrepresent her daughter as violent. She said the program violated her daughter's personal and human rights and continued shooting even after her daughter hyperventilated following the dispute with Kobayashi. Kobayashi also claimed in
Shūkan Bunshun that he was asked by the staff to touch her breast. In August 2020, Fuji Television released an internal report which outlined some of the circumstances surrounding Hana's experience on the show and her subsequent suicide. The producers noted in the report that Hana engaged in self-harm after the fight with Kobayashi. They said staff had met with her on a number of occasions where they suggested she stop using social media and seek professional care. Hana's mother disputed the report's findings, saying she doubted the investigation was impartial, and that the TV network could have foreseen the cyber bullying because of their past experience with the popular show. == Reception ==