KAWASAKI (Kyodo) Police on Wednesday sent to prosecutors their case against three Kawasaki junior high school students accused of assaulting a classmate who took his own life in June.
The boy left a suicide note listing the other students' names and describing them as bullies.
Besides the three facing possible prosecution, a 13-year-old student was reported to a child consultation center.
The 14-year-old victim killed himself at his home using hydrogen sulfide gas. His suicide note identified four classmates as bullying him and his friend. It included the statement, "I will never forgive them."
The note did not describe clearly how he was bullied, but the police later learned he became a victim after trying to protect a friend.
According to police, the four classmates held him down and hit and kicked him in a classroom in mid-February. Police quoted them as claiming they "were teasing him."
The Kawasaki board of education set up an investigation committee after the boy's suicide. According to its report, starting around last October his classmates made such remarks as "you're annoying" and "you should die," and pulled his trousers down.
Children aged between 14 and 19 can be turned over to prosecutors if they are accused of committing a crime, but those under 13 are sent to a child consultation center.