Ijime (Bullying) - Japanese Schooling Problems

Ijime is a Japanese social phenomenon. It is often referred to as the Japanese term for "bully". Bullying is a big problem in Japanese schools. Japanese Ministry of Education reported over 125,000 cases of bullying in the 2006-2007 school year.

Of these 60,897 were reported in primary schools; 51,310 were un middle schools; and 12,307 were in high schools. By contrast there were 30,918 reported cases of bullying during the 1999-2000 school year. Of the total, 19,400 were committed in middle school; 9,100 in elementary school and 2,300 in high schools. 

The dramatic increases between 1999 and 2006 are at least partly the result of a broader definition of bullying that includes “cases in which a child feels her or she has been bullied” and the inclusion of slander on the Internet and on cell phones. 

Bullying victims complain of being kicked, slapped around, tortured and humiliated by other students. A common form bullying is placing garbage in the shoes of a victim. In severe cases, victims become virtual slaves to bullies who extort huge sums of money and beat their victims so severely they have to be hospitalized. 

Bullying has resulted in some suicides and is responsible for a large number of children avoiding school. In 1993, a bullying victim in northern Japan suffocated to death after being rolled up in a gymnasium mat and stuffed into a closet by his junior high school classmates.

In august until november 2006, five more children have killed themselves after being bullied at school. Both of the children who killed themselves in august 2006 had been bullied. A twelve year old girl jumped to her death from a high building after her classmates teased her for being short. A fourteen year old boy hanged himself after his classmates tried to extort money from him.

Suicide in Japan is not just seen as an easy way out. Traditionally, it was regarded as a responsible way to deal with a problem when faced with no other option. But last week, several schoolchildren wrote to the Education minister threatening to kill themselves because no-one would help them. He responded by urging students not to write to him, but instead to try find people they could talk to about their difficulties.

 

One survey found that 14 percent of children had experienced some kind of bullying. This rate is low compared to Britain, where 40 percent have been bullied. Japan, however, had the highest rates of students being repeatedly bullied. The rate of bullying has reportedly declined in recent years. Some educators are suspicious of these statistics, saying that many cases of bullying go unreported. 

Teachers often offer little help, sometimes even ridiculing children who are different. A 12-year-old in Osaka sued his teacher for standing by and doing nothing while he was bullied by other students.

Now, we must not forget that bullying is formed with a bully and a victim. When a bully and a victim meet accidentally, ijime can be the result. Not just a motivation of one side creates a chance of bullying. Each child who is involved in bullying has a psychological condition, which makes him or her amenable to bullying. It may be brought about by social, home or school system.

Every aspect of Japanese society can cause ijime. Therefore, it is definitely impossible to eliminate bullying. It is as difficult as to change the society itself, but it is possible to reduce the number of ijime incidents. We cannot help hoping to see a society where less ijime happens and children play more actively and freely.