crime

3 school bullies sent to child consultation center following suicide of victim

38 Comments

Police in Kanagawa Prefecture said Tuesday that three junior high school students have been sent to a child consultation center following the suicide of a boy they bullied.

According to police, the students confessed to holding down and hitting the boy at a school in Yugawara in late February this year. TBS reported that the victim later took his own life at his home in April.

It is believed that his suicide was connected to the bullying he had suffered at school. In a questionnaire handed to students, several said they had seen the boy being bullied at least 40 times.

During questioning, the boys told investigators that they had bullied the deceased boy for fun, TBS reported.

At a press conference on Monday, the board of education responsible for the school apologized for failing to identify and deal with the bullying. A spokesman said that teachers at the school had not been aware the boy was being bullied.

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38 Comments
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They should be sent to a dentention center!

13 ( +13 / -0 )

40 times and nobody noticed or said anything?

9 ( +13 / -4 )

What exactly is a "child consultation center"? What does it do?

Ms A is right of course, nasty little B*** need some discipline.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

@The Chronic

And should you yourself happen to be a 6 foot 6 karate dan, then kindly ignore my impertinent comment .... Sir : )

7 ( +8 / -1 )

@ The Chronic - I agree that kids need to defend themselves but some kids just don't have it in them to fight back. If you fight back, it can go either way - the bullies will leave you alone or get you harder. The bullied ones probably don't wanna take the risk and find out which way it'll go :(

6 ( +7 / -1 )

If I had my way, I'll send these kids to a "scared straight" program in a US prison.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

@The Chronic

Very simplistic view of the world you have there. What if the father you talked to had been a six-foot-six karate seventh dan?

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Been saying it for years...Teach your kids how to defend themselves. There's a time for talk and and time for arse kicking. Doesn't even matter if you win, so long as you show the bully you're not an easy target, they'll think twice the next time.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

@Ms Alexander: I've never met a bully yet who wasn't a coward with a glass jaw when not with his buddies. You can either go your whole life being afraid or you can take it to the next level. If there's 3 of them......wait til you see one of them walking alone, then it's time to lay him out. Or better yet....tell your dad. Any dad who doesn't stop his son from being bullied shouldn't call himself a father. And for a father / teacher / guardian to plead ignorant as to what is going on is pathetic.

Good example: I went to the house of a kid who was harassing my son (this was before I enrolled him in Karate) years ago.

I told the dad that he needs to stop his son from harassing my son. If it happens again, two things will happen. One, I'll call the cops, and two, if the cops don't do anything I'll come back to your house and knock you (the father) the F*** out. Kid never bothered my son again.

Where was the boys father when he needed him most???

5 ( +6 / -1 )

I'm sure anyone who's taught English in Japan has horror stories, but I've seen bullies hitting kids many times and the company I worked for's policy was do nothing, even if the kid is physically being pounded, and to tell a teacher. The teachers know about the bullying, they've seen it, or ignored it, many times. But there was no way I was going to search for a teacher for even thirty seconds while a kid is ganged up upon, god knows what could've happened. And the bullies don't care about my presence or my verbal warnings so I've had to physically pull the bullies away - in elementary, middle, and high - to help the bullied kids. And never once has a teacher thanked me, the bullied kids have, but I was let go because I broke the rule of laying a hand on the bully. I didn't beat the bullies, I just pulled them off of the littler kid. I lost my job, but the bullied kids were my best friends till the end and I have no regrets. The principals and teachers? They all acted the same like they knew nothing had happened.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

I'm just waiting for the first case when a bullied kid snatches up a pair of scissors or an art knife and kills one of these bullies, and then everyone acts all surprised that it happened.

... and it IS going to happen sooner or later.

So why not stop it now? Make it clear that bullying is unacceptable, and that the same laws that apply in normal society also apply in schools. You touch someone without their permission and you'll get arrested. A night in the cells if done early enough might wake these bullies up to the laws that govern society.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

My older brother was bullied; quit badly at times. Then they all turned on me one day. They all took turns at trying to force me to be weak and run away. I (unlike my older brother) fought like crazy. I used whatever weapons I could get my hands on i.e. rocks, sticks, wood beams anything. I was suspended and 2 parents tried to sue our family since 3 boys ended up in the hospital. I was a lot smaller than all of them but would not give in to their tactics. I would rather die than be shamed and bullied. I was NEVER bullied again. I wish this boy could of stood up to at least one bully for his life would of changed (perhaps). I know it could get worse but it is the only way a bully will learn is to beat them so badly that they will never even want to walk on the same sidewalk as you. To some, this is terrible advice but then again, it worked for me and I would do it all over again if I had to. He took his own life and there is nothing sadder than that. Bullies have no place in society.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

They should have to live with the guilt forever -

4 ( +4 / -0 )

40 times and nobody noticed or said anything?

No, the article was clear - lots of pupils saw it happen. But bullies aren't stupid, they don't bully their victims in sight of teachers. I went to a good school, but there was still bullying and I don't think any of the kids not directly involved ever told a teacher about what happened. If the victim said nothing (and a teacher didn't happen to walk by) then the staff didn't know about it, save for the fact the bullied kid might not have been very popular.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@ lucabrasi: You never seen me! LOL! But I get your point. In my opinion, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do to protect his loved ones. I'll leave it for you to figure it out.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Lucabrasi - you're right ! Better to be safe than sorry ! ;-)

Having said that, it does seem to me there's a LOT more bullying going in Japanese schools than in foreign schools - whether in Japan or abroad. Could this be due to the parents over here not having a clue on child rearing ?

3 ( +5 / -2 )

@AKBfan They understandably did not want to turn themselves into targets.

@Ms. Alexander Agreed.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

A spokesman said that teachers at the school had not been aware the boy was being bullied.

i think thats the blanket statement they use in all of these cases, coz admission would be akin to guilt...not surprisingly, all officials are conveniently oblivious to any bullying, anytime...

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Teachers and board of education = Epic FAIL

2 ( +4 / -2 )

No...Teachers are responsibile...if not full, at least partially. They are responsible of the well being of the students to make sure that they are not only educated, but get educated in a safe environment. This boy was not in a safe environment. If other students could testify to seeing the boy being bullied at least 40 times in the past, then the bullying must have been rampant and fairly frequent. And for the teachers not to be directly or indirectly aware of that, is the failure on their part.

Society is aware of the problem of bullying. and its not like they are turning a blind eye to it, otherwise it would not be reported to the media in the first place. Ultimately, it is the school's responsibility to seek out and prevent bullying, and actively educate the students on the consequences of it.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I remember as a little girl in Japan visiting my grandparents house the neighborhood kids were bullying my sister, threw rocks and dirt on her just because we are "hafu". Their mothers were around and did nothing to stop them. That is until I came out and started to beat the tar out of them. Maybe they didnt like a little girl beating their sons. Anyway, my scrappy little japanese mother and grandmother came out and gave the other mothers a what for and threatened to do to them what their sons did to my sister and those kids never bothered us again. That was back in the 70's, it appears that nothing has changed in all these years. Of course I got in trouble for my actions but nothing will ever change unless the PARENTS get involved with their kids and teach them what acceptable behavior is and that comes with actually talking with your kids and listening to what your kids have to say. I do hope that more people spend some time thinking about this situation and take action to ensure this attitude and behavior does not continue.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

@kickboard

Attitude toward hafu's in this country has always been that of admiration in the media. In the 70 and 80's, young hafu girls and boys would always be on TV cms and magazines because of their "exotic" looks. However, outside of the media, hafus were often treated like freaks, and told to go back to where they came from. I know this from experience being a hafu and growing up in both the US and Japan in the 80's.

The biggest underlying "problem" (for the lack of better term), is that Japan is less tolerant to individuality and differences. This is and has been the culture in Japan for a very long time, and it won't change overnight. There's even a Japanese saying "Deru kugi o utsu", which implies that you should not be the odd man out, and always conform to what everyone else is doing, otherwise you will be targeted. So as mentioned above, bullying is "sort of" a part of the culture, but violence isn't.

Either way, I do agree that bullying needs to stop. Individual differences should be encouraged and not shunned like it is in a lot of Asian cultures.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

A spokesman said that teachers at the school had not been aware the boy was being bullied.

lol. yeah.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

bullying is normal in every country from grade school to highschool, however in Japan because of the idealistic upbringing of the child.....they are prone to such problem specialy when the parents are busy at work or they do not have somebody to talk to or ask for help.

Effects of what they watch on TV or Cinemas also have effect on it, specially the bullys who taught it is cool to do that...........now it would be cool for them inside a cell or rehabilitation center.

Send them to China or South Korea and be bullied there. :-) Peace!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Japan tolerates bullying. Doraemon is a good example. Kinda silly but maybe it takes Gian to stop beating up Nobita for Japan to see that what Gian has been doing is bullying. I mean, in the cartoon, Gian is a big bully but he's also somehow Nobita's friend. But in real life, a big bully really isn't your friend. Maybe it takes a major cartoon, especially one that "promotes" bullying to relook its stance on hitting "friends."

1 ( +1 / -0 )

To be fair, Nobita gets his own back with Doraemon's tools. I'm surprised a kind of deterrence relationship hadn't been formed :)

If you think deeply about it, a lot of Doraemon is morally problematic anyway. A lot of Doraemon's tools, for example, are effectively brain washing / mind control, something that should raise an eyebrow.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

alimel, I lived in Japan as a child in the early 80s, so I don't know what the 70s were like. A lot of kids used to say "haro" and the occasionally kid wanted to touch my brown hair, but I never experienced any racism or bullying. Nowadays there are a lot more "hafu" and the general reaction is "heh ~, iina~" Magazines for girls introduce "hafu make" or make-up to make you look "half." So I disagree when you say nothing has changed.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

A spokesman said that teachers at the school had not been aware the boy was being bullied.

Of course not.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

The three guys should get a bully beat down! No questions asked in Japan bullying is a way of life from grade school to the corporate world whether its done physically or mentally. Its a way of life

0 ( +2 / -2 )

A spokesman said that teachers at the school had not been aware the boy was being bullied." Pathetic ! What the class teacher was doing during 40 bullies ? Students should be encouraged to report bullying but sadly Japanese system does not encourage it.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@kickboard, all I can base my opinions are on is what I experienced during my time there and what I read today. I hope you are right and things have changed for the halfs but the fact is that bullying itself still exists. It exists to the point that we read about young people commiting suicide all too often on this site. My comment is more about the attitudes of the parents and how they ignored their childrens behavior and not so much as what the subject of bullying is. Whatever the reason for bullying doesn't matter, this is about accountability. Sending these boys to a consultation center is something that should have been done before their victim took his own life, not after, it's too late for a good talking to, the damage has already been done and with no real consequence.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Nothing will ever change until they acknowledge that there are serious problems in schools.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The children who are bullying might also experience problem that caused them to bully others.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

As a teacher, if you don't see ANY of the signs of bullying in a chronic case like this, you're an idiot. It doesn't matter how "not stupid" the bullies are, @Shumatsu_Samurai.

And to everyone saying this kid or other kids getting bullied should have "stood up for themselves", they shoudn't have to. These are children and we live in a civilized society where we know from experience that violence only begets more violence. The 3 bullies need to be taught first and foremost that their actions have consequences that they and they alone are responsible and must take the punishment due to them.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

@twinans, I agree with you but bullies find their place in society, they go into politics.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

And even if the teachers had realised they would have done nothing about it! Shame on the students and the teachers. On saying that they should get all the students in the school together and kick the crap out of the bullies.....people should get what they dish out.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

its not the teachers fault.. its societies fault, for accepting the status quo, of cowardice. If people wanted change, start up petitions, rallies, and court actions.. but no.. what is deemed the norm, or rather a attitude toward conformity.. is nothing more then cowardice.

is it not in the job description of teachers, the policies of schools, the board of education to protect children, and ensure a safe, comfortable, safe environment for the students?

This article, only enforces the facade in which this society is based upon. Ignore the minority, and silence them.

The bullies will get a slap on the wrist, and told to go home.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

It is believed that his suicide was connected to the bullying he had suffered at school

he should have killed the other boys instead of himself...

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

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