Ridicule and slander accounted for about 50 to 70 per cent of bullying in each school category, the survey showed. File photo: Reuters
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https://scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3033449/japan-sees-surge-reported-school-bullying-cases-following East Asia
Japan sees surge in reported school bullying cases following ‘active recognition’ by teachers
- The number of serious bullying cases, involving incidents like broken bones, rose to a high of 602
- Nearly 80 per cent of bullying cases involved primary schools, and the number of violent acts at schools came to a record 72,940
The survey covered state, public and private primary, junior high and high schools, as well as special schools for children with disabilities. Photo: Kyodo
The number of reported cases of bullying at schools across Japan reached the highest level on record in the 2018 financial year, according to an education ministry survey released on Thursday.
The country’s schools saw a total of 543,933 bullying cases, up 31.3 per cent from a year earlier.
A total of 80.8 per cent of the schools surveyed said they had identified at least a single case of bullying in the reporting year, up 6.4 percentage points, said the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The number of “serious” bullying cases, involving things like broken bones and being absent from school for 30 days or longer a year, rose to a record 602, up 128, the ministry said.
The survey covered state, public and private elementary, junior high and high schools, as well as special schools for children with disabilities.
Ministry officials said teachers’ “active recognition” of even minor cases in their early stages was behind the surge in the number of reported bullying cases at schools.
The officials said they regard such developments positively and they are a first step in the fight against bullying.
Referring to the increase in the number of serious cases, an official said the ministry “takes it seriously and will continue studying further countermeasures”.
Of the some 540,000 cases, 425,844 involved primary schools, up 108,723, according to the survey.
Bullying cases at junior high schools stood at 97,704, up 17,280, and those for high schools came to 17,709, up 2,920. Those at special schools totalled 2,676 cases, up 632.
Ridicule and slander accounted for about 50 to 70 per cent of bullying in each school category, the survey showed.
Online bullying cases, using personal computers and mobile phones, rose 3,702 to 16,334, and accounted for about 20 per cent of bullying at high schools.
A total of 332 students died by suicide in the reporting period, up 82 cases. Nine of them involved bullying.
The number of violent acts at schools, except for special schools, came to a record 72,940, up 9,615.
The number for primary schools alone rose 8,221 to 36,536.