10 SON OF TAIBATSU Most kids we talk to say they feel refreshed after bullying another child. This shows the tremendous underlying pressure and frustration that they feel. -- Tamotsu Sengoku
From April to October 1985, a flood of 155,066 bullying reports came in across the nation. Thirty percent of these involved physical harm and the rest were deemed psychological in nature ( "Survey Shows School Bullying on the Rise", Asahi Evening News, 2-22- 86)). Of 5,825 police consultations early in 1986, up threefold from the previous year, 638 cases resulted in official investigations of assault, blackmail, and various forms of intimidation ( "School Bullying Cases Triple", Japan Times, 4-14- 86)). Of greater concern, the National Police Agency (NPA) found numerous cases of suicide and attempted murder. Violence and bodily injury accounted for 60 percent of the criminal cases. Extortion cases rose 65 percent over the previous year. In 1985, minors aged fourteen to nineteen accounted for 43.4 percent of all criminal offenders, including adults. In the first eleven months of 1988, this figure increased to 48 percent. According to a 1987 report of the NPA, nearly 54 percent of all murder cases and about 40 percent of robbery cases that were -119- |