A junior high school in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, announced Monday that one of its students killed himself after the teacher in charge of him "responded inappropriately" to injuries he sustained during a sports event.
Azai Junior High School initially explained at a Parent Teacher Association meeting Sunday that the 14-year-old student had been "bullied by the teacher."
But at a news conference Monday, Principal Takashi Ueda retracted that claim and said he did not think the student had been bullied.
The boy's father said neither the school nor the local board of education dealt with the matter in a sincere manner.
The student broke both thumbs while performing a gymnastic formation at the school's sports festival in September, but his main teacher did not report the accident to a vice principal despite being contacted by the student's family about it, Ueda said.
The student told his family the teacher did not treat him sympathetically and his family consulted the school, according to Ueda.
The boy committed suicide on the evening of Feb. 6 by jumping from the seventh floor of a shopping complex near JR Osaka Station.
He left a note dated Feb. 5 in a game device that said his "entire life was destroyed" by the teacher, according to the board of education.
The board said it plans to set up a committee of lawyers and others to investigate the case.
During an all-student assembly Monday, Ueda told the students to consult a teacher if they faced any problem.