The parents of a girl who committed suicide last year filed a 44 million yen damages suit Thursday, claiming her school failed to adequately address the bullying they say was behind their daughter's death.
The parents filed the suit with the Chiba District Court, holding that their 15-year-old daughter killed herself Oct. 13, 2000, as a result of bullying by fellow students, especially two male students, at Yushu Junior High School in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, the parents' lawyer said.
The parents, who declined to be identified, lodged the suit against the two students, the Ichihara Municipal Government, which runs the school, and the Chiba Prefectural Government, she said.
The parents also claim the school failed to take effective measures to stop the bullying, despite repeated calls from the parents to do so.
"I want to make clear during the trial what forced my second daughter to commit suicide," the 57-year-old father said.
According to the lawyer, some male students bullied the girl from the time she entered the school until her death, reportedly telling her, "You smell bad" or "Die."
When she was absent from school, they put a flower on her desk and prayed as if they were holding a funeral for her, the lawyer said.
The girl hanged herself from a tree behind her home in Ichihara. She left a suicide note in her room that said she was seeking relief from her problems and would not forgive those responsible.