The Shiga prefectural police on July 11 searched a municipal junior high school in Otsu and the city's board of education office, suspecting bullying was behind the suicide of a student in October 2011. The rare move by the police underlines the seriousness of the case.
But all the parties concerned — the school authorities, the board of education and the police — have been very slow and sloppy in dealing with the case. The school and board of education must seriously reflect upon their actions and consider whether they are really qualified to be involved in education.
The 13-year-old, a second-year student at Ojiyama Junior High School, jumped to his death from a condominium in Otsu on Oct. 11. The Otsu Police Station determined that it was suicide.