The Kumamoto board of education has criticized a high school in the city for poor judgment after it showed pupils a graphic television program about the Islamic State group.
The program, broadcast by NHK on Feb. 1, was used as study material in a world history class last Friday. Two female pupils who viewed it suffered hyperventilation, the board said on Wednesday.
The program included scenes of the militants shooting young people dead. Although the images were blurred out with mosaics, what was happening could be inferred from the narration and sound, the board said.
The second-grade students went to the school clinic but later recovered and returned to the classroom.
"I wanted students to have a good understanding of Islamic State," the teacher was quoted as saying. None of the students in three other classes reported health problems after seeing the program.
"It was not necessarily wrong as a means of teaching, but (the school) should have been more considerate of students who may not have wanted to see violent scenes," the board said.