A video of a first-year high school student in Niigata being bullied appeared online in mid-February and quickly became a topic of discussion. The clip shows a group of male students pushing, kicking and eventually striking the victim with a stick, all while throwing insults the victim’s way, too. The attack was broadcast on Instagram Live, which is how others came across it.
An article on Nico Nico News dissected the footage and the comments section was soon awash with netizens who were outraged at the actions of the assailants. The anger spilled over to platforms such as Twitter, where users called for any information regarding the identity of those involved. At present, authorities in Niigata have identified the high school the victim is enrolled in as well as those involved.
The video struck a nerve with many online and it isn’t hard to see why. Bullying is an ever-present issue that attracts plenty of media attention in Japan, but it’s never resolved in spite of the fact that everyone agrees it’s one of the bigger problems facing the nation’s youth. And as conversations have migrated to social media and allowed a wider number of people to control them, individuals who have actually experienced bullying firsthand can offer their perspective.