13-year-old boy killed by train after jumping from platform in Tokyo

What? What made this poor little boy end his life?

Sad story. I'm not sure if parents should've been aware that it was a holiday, but it might show that he would not be able to talk with them about school problems or being bullied, IF that was the case that is.

Don’t want to go to work and experience this. I hope the train driver gets help.

Such a sad story, hope the police investigate if he was being bullied. Terrible for the parents and the train driver. RIP little man.

Far too many young people do this in Japan, and it's usually a result of bullying and/or overwork. What an utter waste, and shame, that a young boy felt the need to end his life.

Being a Kid, has lost it's fun these days in Tokyo. There's a lot of pressure upon Kids at this time for the Junior High school entrance exams, and subsequent retakes. Add to that School Bullying (Japanese Style) and it can lead to a very stressful period, particularly in early teens.

@West sea - What? What made this poor little boy end his life?

The answer to this question is, high school! The article doesn't state which school he went to although, 1st grade junior high is a pretty tough adjustment for most kids after six years of partying in elementary school. The private high and middle schools are more like a prison than a school and public high and middle schools are like a flipping zoo! Bullying may be the cause of his trauma, which lead him to jump in front of a train. However, it's more likely the bullying and intimidation came from the teachers at the school and not from classmates. The way teenagers are driven in high schools is absolutely absurd! This kid most likely couldn't finish the stupid amount of homework he had to do during his vacation and was afraid to face the wrath of the teachers when he returned to school. It's a sad end to such a young life although, most teenage kids don't have a life because of their schooling.

13yr old elligible for HS, pull the other one it hatheth bells on.

My son survived primary, JHS and is now n HS, his handicap being a dual citizen who wants to go Europe after HScand settle there.

Back home we only get 4yrs primary after a compulsory pre-school.

@pacint - check out the following if you are confused over JHS and HS...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Japan

And yes, if you fail to get into the school of your choice, you can retake the exams later. Lots of foreigners tend to stick with the Foreign Schooling system, so don't really know about this and the JuKu system.

@Kobe White Bar owner

+1

No one would want their own Kids to do such a thing, the danger is ignoring the signs or even not knowing what the signs are... and for not kicking up a fuss at the School if there is clearly a problem....

I used to live on the next station up from this - Naka-Itabashi (a long time ago now). The Expresses fairly fly through these stations, the driver would have had no chance.

Sad story. Poor driver.

Please stop reporting suicides and keeping it in the consciousness of young vulnerable people.

You bet... ignore it and hope it goes away. The best way of dealing with this issue is to pretend the problem doesn't exist. Typically Japanese.

That is a failure of the society as a whole. When the youth gets as desperate as those old and feeble without bright prospects... 21th century has only began for Japan...

@letsberealisticToday  06:46 pm JST

"Please stop reporting suicides and keeping it in the consciousness of young vulnerable people.

In some countries it is illegal to report on suicide for this reason - social responsibilty please."???

WTF? are you saying stick your head in the sand and hope it goes away?

A sad indication that children aren't allowed to be CHILDREN! It's the same sad scenario in America, as more and more youth feel they have no future or even hope. It's a problem here due to ignorance, superstition, arrogance and just plain stupidity. I don't know how it is for Japan but in America nobody, lest of all our government, seems to even notice or give a damn. This is SAD.

Absolutely tragic, horrifying and preventable death. Suicide has been for centuries a regrettable part of Japanese culture. Fortunately, this ghastly practice is beginning to be viewed as unnecessary and avoidable.

The prevalence of the shame culture and ancestor placation is being replaced with a more forgiving modern understanding of failure, mistakes and loss.

The deceased teenager was almost certainly suffering from profound and severe clinical depression. Modern psychiatry has slowly begun to be fully incorporated into modern Japanese society and it has helped tremendously in treating the many who are afflicted with clinical depression and post traumatic stress disorders.

Children aren't allowed to be kids anymore - bullying at school, endless exams, cram schools - horrible. This poor boy, I can't imagine the despair he was experiencing. The poor driver too, he will need counselling.

@Luddite "Children aren't allowed to be kids anymore" totally agree, i worry for my daughter who is just one, want her to enjoy life as much as possible but dont want all the endless exams. School is obviously important but dont want it to be the be all and end all. Family first everything else comes later.

The issue of reporting on suicide has come up in Britain. The argument is that reporting such suicide may trigger copycat suicides especially in the case of impressionable young people. (Search on Bridgend suicide incident for more information.)

School child suicide is hardly ignored in Japan. As part of my research on Japanese education, I've been comparing US and Japanese coverage. Most school age suicides in the US appear to get a single local article in a single paper unless the parents take the school or bullies to court or there is something noteworthy as in the case of a suicide by an eight-year old boy in Ohio. Any single suicide in Japan seems to get multiple articles and national coverage.

Those who would explain youth suicide in Japan in terms of factors allegedly peculiar to this country might consider New Zealand. It has none of the factors usually cited to explain youth suicide in Japan but New Zealand had the highest suicide rate for young people among all developed countries.