Police say schoolgirl made up story about being attacked

This is a crime I fortunately hear about far less frequently than I used to.

Decades ago, a female teacher I worked with showed me the needle and thread she kept at her desk to mend girls' skirts that had been slashed (usually during their commute in central Tokyo on the crowded train). Apparently, it was a somewhat frequent occurrence.

Being new to Japan, I was surprised since at the time I still believed the "Japan is a safety country" myth that I had been already been told so many times.

A call for attention, please give her the help see is seeking.

a female teacher I worked with showed me the needle and thread she kept at her desk to mend girls' skirts that had been slashed

Oh come on now. You don't think the needle and thread was for the vastly more common typical wear and tear that makes a skirt require mending?

Do you REALLY think it was for repairing the skirts damaged by knife-wielding madmen?

Do you REALLY think it was for repairing the skirts damaged by knife-wielding madmen?

@Pandabelle

Yes. She told me so herself.

Maybe a follow-up question by the reporter like WHY she lied would have made for a more informative story or at the very least, she declined to explain why. Are TBS reporters limited to a certain # of characters or words when submitting a story or is it just a lack of brain cells not to mention those of their editors?

Maybe I'm just being overly critical of the Japanese news organizations and the information was simply "lost in translation" but I would bet my money on the first explanation!

Maybe a follow-up question by the reporter like WHY she lied would have made for a more informative story

@Mr. Perfect

One reason for the lack of an explanation could be that news of her falsifying the report is a breaking development, so no further details are yet available.

Just hours ago, the report was that her skirt had been slashed, then the story was suddenly updated to say she had made up the story. (Thus @nigelboy's comment "Looks like a 'false' report," which was actually made soon before the story was updated.)

Sensato Nov. 11, 2014 - 10:49AM JST

One reason for the lack of an explanation could be that news of her falsifying the report is a breaking development, so no further details are yet available.

That might be possible but the story says the following:

Police said Monday that an elementary schoolgirl who claimed she was attacked by a knife-wielding man as she walked to school in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on Monday morning, made the story up.

The police issued the statement so maybe the police should have revealed the reason why or that no reason was given by the girl yet. If the girl admitted that it was all made-up then it's almost a given that the police got her to almost immediately divulge the reason knowing how good and proficient the J-cops are at extracting confessions. Either way, the police and/or TBS failed to disclose this vital information.

The police issued the statement so maybe the police should have revealed the reason why or that no reason was given by the girl yet.

How do you know they didn't?

Sensato

Yes. She told me so herself.

Nonsense. Either you or she was mistranslating. Just think for a second about what you are saying.

Back on topic please.

so was her skirt slashed or not then... give us the most important and essential information...I cant go on living without this critical piece of news....

@Mr. Perfect

Maybe a follow-up question by the reporter like WHY she lied would have made for a more informative story

According to Japanese-language news sources, the authorities said that the girl had damaged her sweatshirt in October and [lied to her teacher who reported the matter to the police because] she was afraid that her parents would be angry if they found out. ("同署によると、女児は「１０月にトレーナーが破損し、親にばれるのが怖かった」などと説明")

when I first saw this article, my first reaction was was/did she accidentley tear her skirt and was affraid to tell her (possibly stricked) parents? that would seem logical to me, if this slashing of skirts is quite common can any one back it up with satistics or hard evidance? why is it only skirt? or isit jackets or tops as well? can any one tell me why its only skirts? is it a fettish thing? or isit a power thing?

Sensato Nov. 11, 2014 - 04:10PM JST

According to Japanese-language news sources, the authorities said that the girl had damaged her sweatshirt in October and [lied to her teacher who reported the matter to the police because] she was afraid that her parents would be angry if they found out. ("同署によると、女児は「１０月にトレーナーが破損し、親にばれるのが怖かった」などと説明")

Thanks for the information. I guess I will have to wait for the media to do their job and also wait for more accurate English translation a long time after that.

if this slashing of skirts is quite common can any one back it up with statistics or hard evidence?

@Brian

There were more media reports on this in the early 1990s, particularly involving incidents of girls in Japan wearing North Korean school uniforms. The incidents were apparently due to anger toward the country at the time.

Most of the cases I know of involve a box cutter or other such razor-like object, with the skirts cut in a crowded area. Usually, the girls don't even realize it has happened until well after the fact.

Anyway, a few properly-worded Google searches will readily dredge up some of those articles from the past.

This sort of story is sad in 2 way,

The poor girl must be having some sort of trouble to be seeking attention this badly.

By creating a false report it takes up the police and school's time investigating the matter further which can take resources away from ACTUAL crimes. I hope whatever the girls issues that are driving her to do this are resolved and she is able to get the help she actually needs.

I agree that I think she was traumatized by something else in the past.

Something re-traumatized her. She might have believed it occurred until she saw the video tape footage.

It could be strict parents, an over fertile imagination or it could just be that like many children, she is telling a lie. Children lie because it's easy and they can't understand the full consequences of the lie. They don't understand that something like this can have massive repercussions in the adult world.

It could be strict parents or it could be she noticed how often this kind of thing really DOES happen and wanted to get all the attention as the "star" of the moment.

It could be strict parents. She probably comes from a well off family since most public elementary schools don't have uniforms.

I wouldn't say this is common, but it does pop in the news once a while. I have heard of guys that might have a fetish cutting girls skirts on the train and cutting the hair of napping girls. Usually they do it a couple of times and get caught.

Police say schoolgirl made up story about being attacked

Those school girls. Always making up stories ...