Japan’s LINE announced a number of service updates at the LINE 15th anniversary event in July this year, which netizens are looking forward to.
The LINE blocking function has been upgraded. Not only will the other party's messages be "inaccessible", but in the future, your own account will even be "disappeared" directly from the other party's friend list.
In July this year, LINE Japan announced that LINE paid members will gradually add new functions, including "Message Editing", "Premium Blocking", "Message Reservation" and "Call Recording (tentative name)". Among them, "Premium Blocking" focuses on blocking the other party and deleting your own account from the other party's friend list, sparking discussion on the Japanese Internet.
LINE's current general blocking function mainly blocks messages from specific accounts. However, even if you block the other party, your account may still remain in the other party's friend list. According to Japanese media reports, "Premium blocking" goes one step further. In addition to blocking the other party's contact, you can also delete your account from the other party's friend list.
After the new feature was exposed, Japanese netizens reacted in two ways. Japanese media compiled online discussions and found that many users have a positive attitude. Some people say they have been waiting for it for a long time, while others think it is very practical and hope to use it to sort out interpersonal relationships that have long been out of contact. But on the other hand, some people are worried that the other party may not notice it immediately after the block. Once the account suddenly disappears from the friend list, it may make "I have been blocked" easier to find. Some people are curious about whether the status quo will be restored after canceling the subscription.
"Premium blockade" has attracted attention on the Japanese Internet, and it may also be related to the common communication methods in Japanese society. Compared with directly saying "I don't want to contact you anymore," interpersonal communication in Japan is usually described as more indirect, focusing on avoiding frontal conflicts and maintaining harmonious relationships. When facing disagreements or rejections, they are more often expressed in tactful and private ways, and sometimes even "no response" is used to express disagreement or rejection.
When this model is applied to personal relationships, it also derives the "fade out" phenomenon that is often discussed on the Japanese Internet. It is not necessarily a formal announcement of "break-up", but a gradual reduction in contact, a longer response time, and eventually no more contact. Japanese media pointed out that from this perspective, Premium blocking provides a more thorough "digital fade-out" method. You do not need to directly inform the other party or further interact, and you can further remove yourself from the other party's friend list after blocking contact.
According to the plans previously announced by LINE Japan, this feature is expected to be available from the fall of 2026, and will first be opened for trial through LINE Labs. The actual launch progress is still subject to the latest official announcement.
