I’m sorry but ‘soul searching’ isn’t going to be sufficient in this case:
The suicide of a 13-year-old boy in southern Japan after classmates systematically bullied him — even making him “practice” suicide — while teachers ignored the abuse or laughed has prompted soul-searching among educators across the country.
One of the boy’s last acts was to text his tormentors and leave voice mails for them to say, “I’m going to die.” They texted him back to say, “You should die.”
The middle school student, whose name has not been released, jumped from his 14th floor apartment in the city of Otsu last October after enduring heartrending tales of abuse at the hands of his classmates.
His father filed several reports with the police, but officers never accepted them, saying that they could not prove that bullying led to his suicide, according to Japanese media reports.
Details of the harassment are coming to light eight months later, following a student survey conducted by the city’s board of education. In that anonymous survey, students write the bullying escalated to “punching and kicking” in September last year, about a month before the teen jumped to his death. The victim was pressured into shoplifting, had his legs and arms tied while bullies duck-taped his mouth. Students watched as their peers pressured the teen into eating dead bees, “pantsed” him, and made him “practice” committing suicide.
In the survey, some classmates report alerting teachers to those “practices,” but say nothing was done.
Instead, teachers reportedly laughed as bullies tried to choke the victim.
Any teacher found to be laughing needs to be sacked immediately. Those who texted back to the boy on the night of his suicide should be expelled.
There is a place for “soul-searching”. This however, is a time for action.
Click here to find out what happened next in this tragic saga.
Tags: Bullying, Education, Japan boy practice” suicide, Japanese boy suicide from bullying, jumped from his 14th floor apartment in the city of Otsu, News, suicide of a 13-year-old boy in southern Japan, Suicide Prevention, Teacher laughing Japanese boy suicide
Topical Teaching 
July 9, 2012 at 1:34 am |
Heart-rending story… sadly typical of the trends going on all over the world. Worst part is the “adults” who looked on; doing nothing to help.
If you’re willing to allow me to post this link.. Bullying Is The Pits, I’d greatly appreciate it.
This social plague, bullying, has got to come to an end, and the matter of bullying and other kinds of abuse and disrespect must become more and more taboo and abhorrent.
July 9, 2012 at 1:46 am |
Thanks for the comment and congratulations on a wonderful site.
July 9, 2012 at 2:14 am |
Don’t know why my last comment posted with my WordPress login. Please replace with this comment and remove other.
Michael, people like me and you, as well as others concerned about the devastating consequences of bullying, need to really start connecting, “tweeting”, “liking”, etc.
I’m now following you on twitter. Keep on keepin on.
July 9, 2012 at 2:22 am |
Thank you very much for those kind words and for following me.
July 9, 2012 at 7:55 am |
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July 11, 2012 at 4:21 am |
I cannot believe the police are not doing anything about it. The laughing teachers should be fired and arrested (the teachers are especially the reason this incident is quite messed up), and the students should be expelled and sent to a juvenile prison. If the teachers and students think they can do this to another person, they might not be as lucky for the next time. The police need to get their act together, and do the right thing. They know the bullying led to the suicide, it is quite obvious, and they can find out the teachers and students who did this.
I read about this last Friday, and I posted several comments about this, and this still outrages me. To the family, you can count me in the “anti-bully campaign”, you are in my prayers, and I am quite sure the boy is in a much better place right now. Rest assure, the teachers and students, will eventually get caught, and justice will be served, they will be punished one way or another, either by the police, by God, by other faculty of the school, in any manner. To the teachers and students, you are going to get caught, eventually, and you are going to pay the penalty. You did a terrible thing, and you should feel ashamed. Hopefully one day the tables will be turned, and you will know how it feels, and when that day comes, I will be laughing.
Rest in peace, my friend. You are in our thoughts.
July 11, 2012 at 9:33 am |
Thank you for commenting Brandon. I concur with your thoughts and sentiments.