9-year-old boy unconscious after classroom fight

A classmate, who was observing the fight, was quoted as saying that the two often played fighting games during lunch time.

"Fighting games" as in Street Fighter, or "Fighting games" as in beating a kid to tears with an audience?

The video games and shows are irrelevant. What IS relevant is why the bullying, witnessed before, was never reported, or if it was, was member dealt with.

Very sad news. I hope the boy pulls through.

I hope the other boy learns from this as well and stops being a bully.

why the bullying, witnessed before, was never reported, or if it was, was member dealt with.

People cry so freqently in Japan that it has become difficult to distinguish between tears of joy and tears of pain...

There are never any teachers in the class rooms quite often during the day in Japanese schools, as the teachers move around and the students do not.

What this 9 year old needs is a good ol fashioned stone cold stunner. Maybe he will realize what it feels like and will cut out his behavior.

Not at elementary school surely MsDelicious; one teacher teaches most of the subjects in the same room as far as I'm aware. There should have been a teacher supervising at least. I have a 9 year old son, so this story hits a nerve. Fights sometimes happen, such is life, but a terrible outcome on this occasion. Hope he pulls through.

Teachers are often absent from the classroom and club duties. And that is when bad things happen.

I feel bad for the homeroom teacher ( not to mention the kid too). He or she is gonna get dragged over the coals no doubt. Teachers can't be everywhere at all times. I just hope the homeroom teacher doesn't become the scapegoat here.

Does the hospital meant a ruptured brain aneurysm?

From the article it is clear that this is a bullying incident. It is also possible it was just a Kamen rider stunt gone wrong. People here are just speculating.

Slightly confused by the terminology... usually in the news if they say 'cardio-respiratory arrest' they mean that the person has passed away... is that true in this case? I hope not especially considering the age of the victim and the subject matter, but it's not clear.

Hmmm, no supervision during cleaning time? Somebody is in trouble! Students should always be surpervised. It's the law! Hope he recovers.

'accident' - hardly, this was either bullying or some kind of violence, not an accident.

This is why I always emphasize to my teachers "Never leave your students unattended".

@DarkKnghtZ

What this 9 year old needs is a good ol fashioned stone cold stunner. Maybe he will realize what it feels like and will cut out his behavior.

Are you serious? Um...it's called the circle of violence for a reason. Violence, although not always, more likely produces nonsense than sense, which is why I wonder if this view is produced by a frequent experience of violence. Children are in a rotten system. This education is a grinder as far as I can see.

I see wrestling all the time. During cleaning time students are all over the school, perhaps the teacher was moderating another part of the school or looking after another student. As someone else says, teachers can't be everywhere.

As the old saying goes, boys will be boys. Scraps happen. Sad this had such an extreme outcome (most 9 year old children simply don't have the strength to cause much damage) but that is why teachers step in as soon as they see anything happening.

Bullying "between" the boys. Sounds like one boy wailed on the other regularly and nobody did squat.

gaijinfoAPR. 15, 2016 - 08:01PM JST Bullying "between" the boys. Sounds like one boy wailed on the other regularly and nobody did squat.

Based on... your idle speculation?

WilliBAPR. 15, 2016 - 05:59PM JST From the article it is clear that this is a bullying incident. It is also possible it was just a Kamen rider stunt gone wrong. People here are just speculating.

Thank you! Sheesh...

Why in the hell are 9 year olds left unattended for any period of time?

A NINE-YEAR OLD elementary school student... is fighting for his life in hospital

"usually in the news if they say 'cardio-respiratory arrest' they mean that the person has passed away"

Do they need to spell it out? And it is obviously LEARNT BEHAVIOUR and that is what is so shocking.

School bullying in Japan may just have reached an all-time low.

Not hard to imagine the origins of Battle Royale

Home schooling is far better.

That is what you get for setting no barriers inside the minds of growing humans. A borderless society where they can not understand the real values, not virtual ones. Fading, dim distinction between good and evil, right and wrong! What kind of abomination is going to rise unless this is halted for good?!

Children are in a rotten system. This education is a grinder as far as I can see.

I have two kids in the system now, one age 15 the other age 12. No problems of any consequence. And, I don't have to worry about them getting caught in the crossfire between gangs and the probability of them getting into drugs is essentially zero.

School bullying in Japan may just have reached an all-time low.

An all time low compared to what? If you think bullying in Japan is bad, do a search on "school bullying Britain" and get back to me.

Slightly confused by the terminology... usually in the news if they say 'cardio-respiratory arrest' they mean that the person has passed away... is that true in this case? I hope not especially considering the age of the victim and the subject matter, but it's not clear.

Japanese language accounts say the child was in cardio-pulmonary arrest when discovered but his pulse returned and he was alive when taken to the hospital where it was discovered that he had suffered a brain hemmorage. As a result, emergency surgery was performed.

暴行を見ていた教諭はおらず、男児が意識を失ったのに驚いた別の児童が教諭に伝えて発覚。心臓マッサージや自動体外式除細動器（ＡＥＤ）を使うなどの救護措置がとられたが、搬送先の病院で脳内出血とわかり、緊急手術を受けた。

To claim video games aren't somewhat of a result is extremely naive.

You are a product of your environment .

Your media is your social conditioning medium. Thus the word TV program, eduction program, event program‥…… because it programs you.

Clockwork Orange ring a bell?

I have two kids in the system now, one age 15 the other age 12. No problems of any consequence. And, I don't have to worry about them getting caught in the crossfire between gangs and the probability of them getting into drugs is essentially zero.

No Boko Haram either. That's a good thing. We can always make things much better though. Especially as your good fortune may be cold comfort for the 9-year old in question.

i don't normally comment on other people's posts but i have to say what a totally insensitive and irrelevant comment being made by yildaray

A hospital spokesperson said the boy suffered a brain aneurysm

An aneurysm is a pre-existing condition, so if this report is correct, it's possible the fight saved his life. But I suspect they meant something else that was a result of the pounding

People cry so freqently in Japan that it has become difficult to distinguish between tears of joy and tears of pain...

Oh, I think you'll find it's pretty obvious to distinguish between the two. Let me give you a hint: you are 9 years old and being beaten to a pulp. Joy? Or pain?

An aneurysm is a pre-existing condition, so if this report is correct, it's possible the fight saved his life.

It's also possible the aneurysm caused a stroke, resulting in his cardio-pulmonary arrest and current coma.

How come everybody here is assuming that the boy in the hospital is the bully victim? Maybe the boy in the hospital is the bully? There was a Youtube video once that went viral showing a school bully victim fighting back for the first time and beat the $h@t out of the bully, probably because he had so much rage pent up, and couldn't control his anger anymore. In this case, a few punches to the back and stomach normally wouldn't put somebody in the hospital, so for a brief moment, I pictured a chronic bully victim fighting back and losing control. Anyways, I guess it's all speculation at this point, but I hope the kid makes it.

"An all time low compared to what?"

An all-time low compared to the PREVIOUS ALL-TIME LOW of school bullying in Japan where CHILD SUICIDES peak just before the start of the school term because some children WOULD RATHER BE DEAD than set foot back in the classroom where TEACHERS ENCOURAGE BULLYING..

"I have two kids in the system now, one age 15 the other age 12. No problems of any consequence"

And that's the problem in an I'M ALL RIGHT JACK society where people are conditioned to, and are happy to, LOOK THE OTHER WAY.

Until it happens to them!!

there is some sort of inherent cruelty that is rarely called out, but has been present through all of this countries history. it becomes even more evident when you look at children. ive been part of the education system in three different countries, but bullying here is insane. sure it happens in other countries, but only here have I seen seemingly good kids gang up and severely beat a kid for NO REASON and NO PROVACATION, sometimes with the specific goal to drive a student to suicide. theres a japanese book called "knife" which shows a very accurate portrayal of Japanese Bullying, i recommend it

"bullying here is insane"

I am still recovering from watching the movie about the Junko Furuta case where the parents were in the house the whole time and did nothing to stop it.

When I first read about the case a few years ago I had assumed that the fours boys had the house to themselves because the parents were away.

The bulling is insane in Japan because it is ENCOURAGED BY SOCIETY!!

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

A hospital spokesperson said the boy suffered a brain aneurysm

It's also possible the aneurysm caused a stroke, resulting in his cardio-pulmonary arrest and current coma

Agreed, but the way it's written implies the aneurysm was caused by the beating. Maybe it should've said "a burst brain aneurysm"

Tragic. Kids will be kids, but this violence cannot be tolerated whatsoever. This is but one reason that home schooling is far better.

An all-time low compared to the PREVIOUS ALL-TIME LOW of school bullying in Japan where CHILD SUICIDES peak just before the start of the school term because some children WOULD RATHER BE DEAD than set foot back in the classroom where TEACHERS ENCOURAGE BULLYING..

What evidence do you have that teachers encourage bullying? Not something I've encountered or heard about and I have two kids who have been in local Japanese schools for six and nine years respectively. That there is a visible peak in child suicides that corresponds with the start of the school year in Japan is hardly surprising. All schools start on the same day unlike the US where the school calendar varies among jurisdictions.

Further, the number of suicides associated in time with school restarting in the fall was a grand total of 131 for the span 1972-2013. Moreover, association or correlation does not necessarily mean causation. And, if there is a causal relation, that would not be peculiar to Japan. Do a search on "suicide seasonality children" and you will learn that some American researchers claim that, for example, the start of US high school in the fall is associated with an increase in youth suicide.

Meanwhile, back in the real world...

"What evidence do you have that teachers encourage bullying?"

You should speak to Japanese people who know and tell the truth about their own society. The Japanese people who flock to England (and other countries) every year to escape.

There are some who post on this site.