Woman convicted of stalking ex-boyfriend with 14 'likes' despite restraining order

A woman in her 30s in Japan was convicted of stalking after repeatedly pressing "like" on her ex-boyfriend's social media posts despite being under a restraining order barring her from contacting him.

The Tokyo District Court sentenced the 33-year-old, convicted of violating Japan's stalking regulations law, to six months in prison suspended for three years on probation, Kyodo News reported Tuesday.

The woman had previously been arrested after sending repeated messages to her former partner through the messaging app Line shortly after he broke up with her, on Feb. 14.

Authorities issued a restraining order against her on March 3, and she was fined 200,000 yen ($1,270) and released on May 27.

Her fixation on her ex-boyfriend did not end there. A week after the fine, on June 3, she accessed his account on X, formerly Twitter, pressed "like" 14 times and reposted one of his posts — actions that led to a new indictment for violating the stalking regulations law.

The woman pleaded not guilty, arguing that pressing "like" and similar actions were not motivated by romantic feelings, but the court rejected her defense.

Presiding Judge Hayashi Yoshihiro noted that the offense was committed just one week after she had been fined in the same stalking case, saying "severe criticism cannot be avoided." The judge nonetheless handed down a suspended sentence, citing the defendant's show of remorse, including a commitment to delete her social media apps.