The Rising Problem of Bullying in Japan

Bullying has been a common problem in Japan for years and decades and probably longer. Ever since I got here I've heard about the problem of bullying. But it seems that now the government is going to try and take it more seriously, as they realize it's a problem they need to get involved in.

Why do children choose to bully another? As a parent I have to ask, don't parents at home teach their children good rules to live by? Or, is Japan really a society of 'survival of the fittest'?

Janina, now in Jr. High, where bullying can get pretty bad, had a difficult time for a few years in elementary school. She was by no means severely bullied, but she wasn't fitting in and was teased. It seems that about mid-5th grade things worked out and now she has no problems at all. She found her inner strength, she gained a confidence she didn't have, and she blossomed. I was happy that she had a really great teacher at school who poured a lot of confidence into her.

I talked to her about bullying at her school, and found out that there is one girl in her grade who is a subject of bullying. I asked Janina what could be done about it, but she said she didn't know. First off, if she befriends the girl, she's afraid she will also become the target. It also seems that she has tried to reach out to this girl a few times, only to be rebuffed. As a parent, I also don't know what to do. I don't want to see another child mistreated, do I report this to the school principal, do I demand that Janina bring the girl home and make friends with her?

In Japan there has been a small wave of children and young adolescents who have committed suicide over incidences of bullying by both other students and teachers. One thing I believe I have tried to instill in my children is a strength to know they should not be mistreated by anyone. When I hear about someone mistreating them, I become outraged and try to impart to the kids that they should be outraged at any mistreatment as well. Of course I try to balance it with the fact that you should never pick on someone else. I hope, I think, I cross my fingers, that they have gotten the point. It was something I learned from my Mom--don't take s**t from noone!

So, here's the article:

Education reform panel vows to address bullying

By AKEMI NAKAMURA
Staff writer

An advisory panel on educational reform said Wednesday it will come up with measures to stop school bullying following the suicide of a 13-year-old boy in Fukuoka Prefecture who complained of abuse at the hands of his classmates and a teacher.

Most of the 17 members of the Education Rebuilding Council emphasized the need to take measures to prevent bullying at school, said Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Eriko Yamatani, the special adviser who heads the panel, after the council's second meeting since it was set up earlier this month.

"Children (who are bullied) are crying out for help," she said. "We have to find out what measures are necessary."

Yamatani and Hiroyuki Yoshiie, a council member who also serves on the Yokohama municipal board of education, were scheduled to visit Chikuzen, Fukuoka Prefecture, later in the day to discuss the suicide with the boy's parents, officials at Miwa Junior High School, where the boy went, and members of the Chikuzen municipal board of education.

The boy was found hanged Oct. 11 at his home. He left four suicide notes in which he complained he could not go on living because of the bullying. A teacher at his junior high school reportedly instigated the bullying by his classmates.

Based on the interviews, the 17 members of the council, which will be divided into three working groups, will discuss how to improve teachers, support children who are being bullied and come up with concrete measures to prevent abuse, Yamatani said.
The Japan Times
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