Threat of suicide
At 5:30 this morning, I scanned the news as always, half asleep, half awake. I noticed this story, but paid it little attention. I was unaware of how much it was going to shape my day. In fact I could barely remember what I read.Then I checked my pigeon-hole at school and picked up a bundle of papers. They were wrapped and a message attached. I was to read the photocopies inside and shred them straight after. Not making head nor tail of the kanji I put it aside. Coming back from morning assembly a glimmer of recognition flickered at the back of my mind and I picked the papers up again. They were photo-copies of the very letters I had been reading about on the BBC.
A student was threatening to kill himself on Saturday if the bullying that had made his life hell had not stopped by Wednesday 8th November. Today in fact. He had written letters to his homeroom teacher, the principal and the board of education, but no action had been taken to help him. The student had written the letters, painfully describing the bullying at school and the physical and mental torment he had suffered. In what is to prove a stroke of genius, he then sent the letters to the education minister Bunmei Ibuki, telling him exactly what had happened and that he planned to end his life.
No-one knows whether it is a trick, or if it is genunine. The government initially did not know if the student's sex, age, location, or school. It is worse than searching for a needle in a haystack. But the government is going to try. Since starting to write this post, more information has come to light and more details released to the press.
Every board of education across Japan has been sent the letters and been told to report to every single school in the district. Teachers are to be addressed, who will in turn talk to each class. The whole country is desperately trying to search for answers. And I had copies of the letters in my hand. The saddest thing is that the story the boy tells is not extraordinary or really anything new. But his reaching out for help is.
Bullying is widespread in Japanese schools, and recently a number of high profile cases thrust it into the limelight. Japan's education system is flawed, but it is better than many, many countries. Sadly, there seems to be a real problem dealing with the extent of bullying of late. Unlike many of the country's lesser concerns, this is one that is not going go away by simply collectively turning a blind eye and pretending there is nothing wrong.
There are a few hours left until the end of day. Whether or not the student will go through with his promise has yet to be seen. Maybe enough will be done in time. I truly hope so, and I truly hope the young pupil knows that he or she is not alone, and that they have an important part to play in this world.
After such a publicised shock to the system, the government can not ignore the issues facing schools: delinquency, bullying, yobbishness, antisocial behaviour, ambivalence... in short, the things that UK schools have been struggling with for many years. Japan is in many ways behind the times, but it is catching up fast. The education system is beginning to show incredible strain. It's anachronistic and worn, it needs a revamp, and maybe one desperate student has acted as the catalyst.
