Japan Bullying and Suicides in the International News

Filed under: Japan in the News
Posted by Ken Worsley at 12:20 am on Wednesday, November 15, 2006

The endemic problem of bullying in Japan’s schools and its link to a recent string of suicides is picking up some steam in the international press. Here’s a look at what they’re reporting:

First, thanks to Japan Probe for making us aware of this story, from the MSN-Mainichi in Japan: On Tuesday, The Ministry of Education received seven more letters from students who say they intend to commit suicide because of bullying, in addition to the seven letters received last week. One student wrote: “Teachers did nothing for me. I may be dead by the time this letter has reached you.” Two similar emails have also been received.

The Times of London online has recently (within the past few hours) posted a story covering Japan’s bullying, recent suicides and letters to the Ministry of Education.

The China Post reports that, “Education Minister Bunmei Ibuki also reprimanded a school principal who hanged himself on Sunday for failing to stop bullying, saying he had not set the right example to students.”

The BBC News reports that two students, aged 12 and 14, committed suicide over the weekend - one having been bullied over her height and the other the victim of extortion from a classmate. The Japan Times also published a short piece on the girl’s suicide. The Nation in Thailand also reported on these two suicides.

The International Herald Tribune is reporting that an 18 year old girl jumped from the fifth floor of her school building on Tuesday, and later died at a nearby hospital.

On November 11, Shane McLeod at the ABC (Australia) reported on the links between bullying and suicide. The audio version of his report is also available (in mp3 format).

The Brunei Times included news on Japan’s bullying and suicides in its weekly Asia update.

Finally, we have a link to a story from the Guardian Unlimited, from November 10th, when the Ministry of Education received its second letter from a student a story that was also covered by Pravda in Russia (groovy logo, guys) and Sun2Surf in Malaysia.

US sources have been notably absent from coverage. We would love to see some links if you find any.


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7 Comments »

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Comment by John S

November 15, 2006 @ 12:08 pm

Are these numbers abnormal? Or just getting more coverage? Do you think the letters are hoaxes?

Anyone able to find any statistics on this?

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Comment by James

November 15, 2006 @ 2:20 pm

John S:

In 2004, there were 32,325 suicides in Japan, that’s about 88 suicides a day. The vast majority of them are probably adults, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few minors in the mix. It seems that bullying-related suicides have become the latest media buzz topic, just like drunk-driving was a month ago. It’s also possible that the increased media coverage is putting ideas into the heads of bullied students, which is almost certainly the case for the suicide threat letters officials have been getting.

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Comment by john

November 15, 2006 @ 4:29 pm

US sources are more concerned with political and economic turmoil in the region. The most recent hit I can find is on bloomberg from Nov 9th

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aw4uAn_S9jjU&refer=japan

here’s the political/economic ones

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/world/asia/15japan.html?hp&ex=1163653200&en=5024845780da5ec2&ei=5094&partner=homepage

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Comment by DeOrio

November 15, 2006 @ 4:48 pm

I’m inclined to agree with you, James. I know that in 2000, about three quarters of Japan’s suicides were among the over-65 population, which is in line with every other industrialized country and notable only in that the suicide rate among people in their 40s and 50s was a little higher than in other OECD countries. The most striking characteristic of suicide in Japan is that it was much more common among men than women. I think this is, to some extent, the latest media buzz.
I’m hesitant to attribute much to media-inspired copycatting, although I’m sure it has happened once or twice.
I think what we’re seeing may be part of a political push. Education reform is a high priority of the kantei, so it may be that more attention is being paid to school issues in general - think of the missed courses in high schools that dominated the immediately previous news cycle. This in conjunction with the high profile complaint of the parents of the girl in Saitama who wrote a suicide note saying she was killing herself because of bullying only to have the education board report no suicides due to bullying, probably pushed an existing issued to the fore.
Do you know if the absolute number of teenage suicides in Japan over recent years?

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Pingback by Our Family Blog » WEDNESDAY LINKS 11/15/2006

November 16, 2006 @ 10:26 pm

[…] Japan Bullying and Suicides in the International News […]

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Comment by Norina

February 4, 2008 @ 11:06 pm

dude im writing a paper on aggressive behavior in adolescents. im citing you from this snippet! x

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Comment by Garrett DeOrio

February 5, 2008 @ 10:28 am

Thanks, Norina. You should talk to people who knew Pellegrini as a kid, too.

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