Japanese schools reported a record number of bullying cases in fiscal 2017 amid a nationwide effort to have teachers identify even the most minor cases in order to tackle problems while they are still at an early stage, the education ministry said Thursday
Public and private elementary, junior and senior high schools, as well as special schools, reported a total of 414,378 cases of bullying in the year to the end of March, up 91,235 from a year earlier, according to a ministry survey.
The number of serious bullying cases resulting in students suffering severe physical and mental injuries rose to 474, up 78, while 10 of the 250 students who killed themselves during the reporting year had been bullied at school, the ministry said.