Bullying cases in Japan schools on the rise: Survey

THE number of bullying cases in schools across Japan rose sharply last year to more than 600,000 and was more prevalent among younger children.

An Education Ministry survey showed that a record 612,496 bullying cases were identified at schools, up 68,563 from the previous high a year earlier.

The survey also showed that among the cases, the number of "serious" incidents where victims sustained severe physical or psychological damage also hit a record 723, up 20 per cent from 2018.

The survey covered public and private elementary, junior high and high schools, as well as special schools for children with disabilities.

About 82 per cent of the schools reported that they had identified at least one case of bullying this year until March.

According to Kyodo News, a ministry official attributed the record numbers to recent efforts by teachers to identify and address bullying.

The survey also revealed that 317 students committed suicide last year, with 10 of them being victims of bullying.

Bullying was highest at elementary schools with the number of reported bullying cases rising 58,701 from the previous year to 484,545.

Cases at junior high schools rose 8,820 to 106,524, while 18,352 cases were identified at high schools, up 643.

Bullying cases at special schools for disabled students increased by 399 to 3,075.

The survey also broke down the figures into different types of bullying with almost 62 per cent of the cases involving verbal bullying, while attacks on the internet and social media accounted for 2.9 per cent.

However, the figure rose significantly at high schools with online bullying accounting for 18.9 per cent.

Violent acts by students at elementary, junior high and high schools also climbed to an all-time high of 78,787, with elementary schools again showing an upward trend.

The annual survey also revealed that the number of elementary and junior high school students who were absent for 30 days or longer due to reasons other than illnesses and financial difficulties rose to a record 181,272, up 16,744 from the previous year.

The survey showed that 55.6 per cent of those students were absent from school for 90 days or more.