A 33-year-old man from Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture was arrested for spreading obscene messages and images on social media in the name of Daiya Seto, a bronze medalist at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in swimming.
Fake images of the swimmer were posted and went viral on social media in August last year. A damage report was submitted last month, and as a result of the police investigation, it was found that the 33-year-old man, who lives in Hiroshima, was suspected of posting false images last August, and was arrested on suspicion of defamation and displaying indecent images on March 6.
The suspect, Dai Kashiramoto, a company employee was arrested and has admitted to the investigation saying “I posted indecent pictures.” The two have never met and the police are investigating the circumstances of the incident in detail.
When the images were spread, Seto posted on his social media that it was fake, and that this malicious harassment was unacceptable. Following the arrest, his office commented that they hope this will serve as a deterrent to harassment on the internet.