OSAKA — Anger on the part of the local community toward the way the media reported on the slaying of eight children at Osaka Kyoiku University Ikeda Elementary School and on the aftermath prompted mental care experts Sunday to demand an end to what they call psychologically damaging coverage.
"Some in the media thrust microphones at children who witnessed the murders. Other reporters went to the homes of the victims' families and demanded comments," said Naoyasu Motomura, head of the medical support team assigned to counsel the victims and families.
The team specifically wants the media to refrain from direct interviews with children at the school; from filming or photographing the victims' next of kin, other individuals involved, or their workplaces; from interviewing families, including by telephone or at their homes; and from filming the victims' homes and the school itself.