Nursery schools and kindergartens in Japan are struggling to teach preschoolers about sexual minorities, a challenge highlighted by the case of a 6-year-old boy who stopped attending a nursery after being bullied for dressing in girls' clothing.
The boy was enrolled in a municipal nursery school in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, in April 2019. His parents later learned that he was being taunted by classmates, who would call him names such as "boy-girl." In barely legible handwriting, the boy scrawled "left out," "beaten up," "go away" and other messages on a piece of paper he showed his parents.
But when the parents consulted with the municipal government, they were told that "bullying did not apply in this case" since a law aimed at preventing school bullying was only applicable to elementary school students and older.