Editing Chain letter (section)

====SNS and Forum Chain Messages in Japan====
From around 2011, email chain letters declined in Japan, while similar messages spread via [[social networking service|SNS]].<ref name="日経新聞20181117"/> On [[Twitter]] (now X), this often takes the form of pressured [[retweet]]s (now reposts), while on [[LINE (software)|LINE]], messages urge forwarding to a specific number of contacts.<ref name="ムー202304_p42"/> Common LINE examples since 2016 include: "Copy this and send to 10 people or misfortune will befall you," or "You received this because you're important to me. Send this to 20 people you truly like. If you don't, friends or lovers will leave you."<ref name="TVでた蔵20231212_p1"/><ref name="東洋経済20160604"/> The latter type, leveraging friendship anxiety, reportedly caused real friction when recipients felt pressured to forward, annoying their contacts.<ref name="日経パソコン803(1)_p1"/> Some include phone numbers to call "if you think it's fake," but these are often unrelated third-party numbers used for harassment, or sometimes linked to organized crime.<ref name="下野新聞20230921"/><ref name="高校生新聞20231101"/> Surveys indicate high exposure among Japanese teenagers, with many admitting to forwarding them.<ref name="CNET20231118"/> Online forums like [[Yahoo! Chiebukuro]] and Nifty Kids receive numerous相談 (sōdan - consultation) requests about these messages.<ref name="CNET20231118"/><ref name="ヤフー20220509"/><ref name="ftn20230925"/>

On Japanese [[imageboard]]s and forums like [[2channel]] (now [[5channel]]), copy-paste chain messages also appear.<ref name="ムー202304_p42"/> One notable type emerged around 2002, involving narratives where the poster claims to be possessed or hunted by a malevolent entity (e.g., "Are" - "That Thing") and urges readers to spread the story to dilute the entity's focus, ending with statements like "If you want to increase your own survival probability, I recommend exposing this text to as many eyes as possible." These are sometimes called "self-responsibility type" (自己責任系, ''jiko sekinin kei'') stories.<ref name="現代20220109_p5"/>

{{External media|
|image1=[https://asset.watch.impress.co.jp/img/iw/docs/1575/501/01_o.jpg Image known as the "Hand of God"] - [[Impress Watch]]
}}
Since around 2007, an image known as the "Hand of God" (神の手, ''Kami no Te'')—depicting a hand-shaped cloud with sunbeams—has circulated frequently on Twitter and LINE in Japan.<ref name="インプレス20240315"/> Typically accompanied by text claiming that sending it to people you wish happiness upon will bring them good luck and grant wishes,<ref name="非文字資料研究センター48_p20"/> the image has been flagged by security firms like [[G DATA CyberDefense|G DATA Software]] as potentially linked to [[malware]].<ref name="謎解き超常現象_p102"/><ref name="ITmedia20080321"/> (Meteorologists state such cloud formations are impossible;<ref name="AERA20080324_p58"/> the image likely originated as a doctored version of a [[shock site|shock image]] from [[Goatse.cx]].<ref name="AERA20080324_p58"/><ref name="謎解き超常現象_p102"/>) The image gained renewed attention in 2021 when celebrities posted it on [[Instagram]], prompting warnings.<ref name="インプレス20240315"/><ref name="J-CAST20210205"/> This "Hand of God" image represents a shift back towards positive "good luck" chains, albeit with potential security risks.<ref name="非文字資料研究センター48_p20"/> {{See also|Goatse.cx#Popular culture and parodies}}

On [[TikTok]], sounds tagged "#いいことが起きる" (#GoodThingsWillHappen) gained popularity around 2022-2023, particularly among Japanese high school students, promising fulfilled wishes if used in posts.<ref name="numan2023-07-29"/><ref name="エキサイト20230729"/><ref name="ラジトピ20231214"/><ref name="ING20230406"/> These represent a further evolution towards positive, low-stakes chain-like phenomena, contrasting with the anxiety-inducing nature of Fukou no Tegami.<ref name="ラジトピ20231214"/>

While digital copying allows perfect replication, potentially halting the mutation seen in handwritten letters like the "Stick Letter,"<ref name="歴史読本31(3)_p180"/><ref name="歴史民俗博物館研究報告20120330_p316"/> new forms and variations continue to emerge across different platforms, suggesting the underlying mechanisms of chain letters constantly adapt to new media.<ref name="現代20220109_p5"/><ref name="非文字資料研究センター48_p20"/>