Bullying Incidents Reported at 83% of Japanese Schools

In 2019, the number of reported bullying cases in Japan’s public and private elementary, junior high, and high schools rose from the previous year by 68,563 to 612,496. These results come from a study on problematic student behavior and school absenteeism conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology.

This is the sixth continuous year that the figure has risen, meaning it is the highest since records were first kept in 2013, when the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent Bullying was implemented. Of 37,011 schools, 30,583 or 82.6% reported incidents of bullying.

There were 484,545 reported cases in elementary schools, 106,524 in junior high schools, 18,352 in high schools, and 3,075 in special-needs schools. By grade, the highest number of cases were all in elementary school with 96,416 in the second grade, followed by 91,981 cases in the third grade, 87,759 in the first grade, and 82,883 in the fourth grade.

There were 46.5 reported cases per 1,000 students. This was an increase from 40.9 cases per 1,000 from the previous year. By school level, 17,485 elementary, 8,945 junior high, 3,632 high, and 521 special needs schools reported cases. Of those, 906 schools, equivalent to 3.0%, consulted with the police. This comprised 230 elementary, 432 junior high, 225 high, and 19 special needs schools.

The main type of bullying involved teasing, threatening, or insults and accounted for 379,417 cases (61.9% of the total). Other major types included 131,232 cases (21.4%) of being run into or struck and kicked in the guise of play, and 83,671 (13.7%) of being excluded from groups or ignored.

Of the reported cases, 80% at the various schools have been resolved, while just under 20% are still in the process of reaching a resolution. In order for a case to be regarded as resolved, there has to have been both no bullying for at least three months and no current physical or mental suffering for the victim.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: © Fast&Slow/Pixta.)