Three years ago, a second-year male student committed suicide at a private high school in Munakata City, Fukuoka Prefecture, leaving behind a suicide note complaining of being bullied.The next day, the school asked the bereaved family about how to inform current students. It turns out that they were checking whether to report the death as an "accidental death."
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's guidelines clearly state that such lies must not be told, as they may lose the trust of students and their parents.
In March 2021, a second-year male student at Tokai University Fukuoka High School in Munakata City, Fukuoka Prefecture committed suicide, leaving behind a suicide note complaining of bullying within the Kendo club he belonged to.
The day after a student committed suicide over this issue, it was learned that the school had asked the bereaved family to decide whether to inform current students about the incident: suicide or accidental death.
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's guidelines for investigating serious incidents of bullying, ``Schools should not say things like ``the death was an accident,'' as they risk losing the trust of students and parents if they ``lie.'' It is clearly stated.
In response to an interview with NHK, the school explained, ``We confirmed that there are cases in which the bereaved family generally does not want to disclose suicide.We did not intend for the death to be an accident.''
Regarding this issue, a third-party committee set up by the school recognized 10 incidents, including sexual bullying, as bullying, but concluded that the direct cause of the suicide could not be determined, but the fact of the bullying was sufficiently determined. Fukuoka Prefecture has decided to re-investigate the matter as it is not clear.