The attack on schoolchildren on June 28 by a knife-wielding man in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, again underlined the difficulty involved in protecting children from dangers. School authorities, parents and the police need to jointly consider ways to enhance the safety of children on their way to and from school.
On the afternoon of June 28, after school lunch and classroom cleaning were over, several dozen first-graders were about to cross a road in front of Oizumi Daiichi Elementary School when a man got out of a car and began charging toward them with a knife. The children cried and tried to flee.
Fortunately a 71-year-old man was at the scene serving as a crossing guard. To protect the children, he resisted the attacker by using the flag he was holding. The assailant fled in the car after injuring three boys, who had cuts on the neck and arms.