Dead Girl's Parents Sue Japan Government For Daughter's Suicide.

A Japanese couple is demanding compensation from the government over the death of their daughter, who killed herself after being bullied in school, in what media said was the first case of its kind. Bullying, a perennial problem in Japanese schools, grabbed headlines late last year after a series of suicides by school children that were blamed on bullying. More than a dozen children have killed themselves since September.

Shinji Nakai and his wife Setsuko on Tuesday sued the governments of Japan and Kitamoto, the city just north of Tokyo where they live, in connection with the suicide of their 12-year-old daughter Yumi in October 2005, media reports said.The two demanded 20 million yen in compensation in the suit filed at Tokyo District Court, saying the school had neglected its safety responsibilities, Kyodo news agency said.

According to the lawsuit, Yumi had been insulted and received letters from her classmates threatening to spread rumours. She jumped to her death from the roof of an apartment building. "The responsibility of the city school board, which failed to provide appropriate guidance to the bullies and did not clearly explain the cause of our daughter's suicide, is quite heavy," her parents were quoted by Kyodo as saying.

They added that Education Ministry policies had contributed to an atmosphere in which bullying was overlooked, Kyodo said.

A court official confirmed that the suit had been filed but declined to give further details, while an official at the Education Ministry said he was not aware of the particulars of the case and could not comment. School board officials at Kitamoto were not immediately available for comment.

A survey of 6 400 students at public high schools conducted last year showed that 52 percent of boys and 54 percent of girls said they had been bullied in junior high school.

Japan's education system, which emphasises competition and academic achievement, is said by experts to be partly to blame for bullying as it puts students under constant stress. A report last month on education reform included recommendations for dealing with bullying such as allowing students to be suspended. (Independent Online)

***** This is a case that bears watching and has implications that go beyond Japan. It rightfully puts the onus on the school authorities to combat bullying and other misdeeds and crime as well as holds the school responsible if it has clearly failed in its duties. The number of cases of brutal assaults in Malaysian schools including hostel inmates in some of our residential schools is testimony of the lackadaisical attitude our education ministry has adopted in such cases. They talk the talk and claim they will take the severest action, involve the police etc etc and alas nothing has happened. In the event of such a thing occuring in Malaysia, lawyers should advise parents to sue the government for dereliction of duty, failure to exercise care and provide adequate security for school-going children.
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A Malaysian Example: Three students charged with murder of fellow student