Riley, Charlotte E. (2021).

An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent

Bullying. MA Coursework. SOAS, University of London 1

An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent Bullying

Despite being a member of the G7 and United Nations, Japan has been reluctant to

promote children’s rights. Japan ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1994,

which includes the right to education and protection from violence and exploitation

(OHCHR). However, the state’s response to bullying demonstrates its reluctance to enforce

effective societal and structural changes to protect children. Writing in 1996, the

psychiatrist and student counsellor Kawai Hayao argued that bullying in Japanese schools is

unrivalled by any other society regarding its ‘cruelty’, frequency, and ‘insidiousness’. (Kawai

1996, 103) A landmark response was Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s 2013 Act for the

Promotion of Measures to Prevent Bullying (henceforth ‘the Act’), which defines bullying and

lists the responsibilities of schools and local and national government in its prevention and

investigation. This law, however, fails to address the underlying factors contributing to the

proliferation of ijime in Japan. Ijime (虐め) is the infliction of mental and/or physical

suffering onto an individual by an aggressor with a dominant position acting within a group.

(Naito and Yoneyama 2010, 319) Japan has seen increasing moral panic surrounding ijime

from the 1980s, fuelled by frequent high-profile cases of children committing suicide,

including cases of murder-suicide, due to the severity of bullying (Goodman 2012, 85). The

current guidelines for schools’ responses to bullying are based upon this law, meaning that

it becomes a significant barrier to children’s’ health, wellbeing, and educational

achievement. The lack of effective guidelines and legal consequences for failing to adhere to

them therefore poses a significant threat to Japanese children and their right to an

education and freedom from violence. In 1992 alone, official figures reported over 94,000

cases of children refusing to attend school (tohoki) and over 120,000 children dropping out
Riley, Charlotte E. (2021). An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent
Bullying. MA Coursework. SOAS, University of London 2

of senior high school – behaviours often due to bullying (Yoneyama 1999, 11). This essay

examines why the Act is ineffective and fails to be cognisant of major factors promoting

bullying in schools through identifying common denominators in the Act’s shortcomings.

The Act does not address teacher’s perpetration and encouragement of ijime which creates

an environment that fosters violence. This prompts evaluation of the Act’s proposed

preventative measures, which insufficiently account pressure on victims and staff to conceal

ijime and are also politically motivated by nationalist ideology rather than an evidence-

based approach.

The Act begins by defining bullying, which already demonstrates the committee’s

limited recognition of factors in ijime. Article 2 (n.d., 1) specifies that psychological or

physical ‘influence’ are exerted by a child onto another child. This absolves teachers of

any guilt in ijime, despite evidence that teachers directly bully students, modelling

behaviour for the class to follow. Japanese teachers have been able to act with relative

impunity in cases of emotional abuse and corporal punishment. ‘Abuse’ (gyakutai, 虐待)

and ‘child abuse’

(kodomo gyakutai, 子供虐待) are not used in the Act. This essay utilises the World Health

Organisation’s (2020) definition of ‘child abuse’: the physical and/or emotional

maltreatment of an individual under 18 that endangers their health, development, or

dignity. It is committed in the context of a relationship of ‘responsibility, trust, or power’,

which, by definition, includes corporal punishment (taibatsu, 体罰). Although taibatsu is

illegal under Article 11 of the School Education Law (Schoolland 1986, 10), it still receives

public support and widespread use by teachers; such teachers often occupy leadership
Riley, Charlotte E. (2021). An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent
Bullying. MA Coursework. SOAS, University of London 3

positions (Naito and Yoneyama, 322), influencing school policy and other faculty.

Emblematic is the 2013 case of a pupil’s suicide at an Osaka junior high school on day after

being a taibatsu victim from a sports coach. Parents defended the teacher’s methods to the

extent of petitioning for lenient treatment by investigators. Further, in 2013 an opinion poll

by Yomiuri Shimbun found that 47% of respondents supported the use of violence by

teachers. This attitude stems from the belief that taibatsu is essential to maintain order,

which was popularised during the 1980s: a period of growing violence amongst students

(Naito and Yoneyama, 323). The Act’s failure to acknowledge teachers’ abuse of students

means that teacher’s creation of an environment conducive to ijime is unaddressed.

Yoneyama and Naito (2010, 322) argue that teachers’ abuse of students, such as name

calling, are then mimicked by classmates. Other researchers find that teachers incite

bullying by showing favouritism or providing justification for ijime through demeaning the

victim. Teachers may also participate or support aggressive students, as gaining favour with

powerful students aids classroom management. Additionally, one must consider that such

behaviour legitimises blaming ijime victims. Akiba’s student interviewees (2004, 226) cited

their victim’s poor attitude towards studying or clubs, class disruption (being ‘noisy’ or

‘selfish’) and the perception that they are ‘hated’ by the class, as justification for ijime. The

use of both physical and emotional abuse, in addition to participation in ijime, illustrates

that monitoring teachers’ behaviour is vital to reducing instances of ijime. This has not been

the case historically, and the Act legitimises this attitude.

Teachers are separated from ijime through semantics, both by the State and mass

media. A pertinent example is the suicide of Hirofumi Shikagawa in 1986. Classmates

pretended that he was dead by ignoring him (zenin shikato, 全員シカト) and placing
Riley, Charlotte E. (2021). An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent
Bullying. MA Coursework. SOAS, University of London 4

funerary incense and a condolence card on his desk which was signed by multiple teachers,

including the principal (Yoneyama 1999, 158). The case attracted considerable attention,

but the teachers’ actions were labelled ‘mistakes’ rather than ijime. The consequence of

such language is that teachers are held to lax behavioural standards. In the Shikagawa case

a few teachers resigned, and others had to take a teaching course; all could continue

teaching and none received criminal charges. Little has changed: in 2006 former Olympian

and headmaster of a school for ‘problem kids’ Hiroshi Totsuka asserted that ‘taibutsu is part

of education’ in a statement following his release from prison in 2006. Between 1979 and

1983, multiple children died or went missing from his school due to taibutsu, yet Totsuka

served a mere 6- year sentence and resumed teaching after release (Aspinall 2019, 236).

The State had ceased collecting taibutsu statistics in 2006, highlighting the almost apathetic

attitude of the Government and legal system towards teacher violence. Yoneyama (1999,

168) contests that teachers must be held to account to alleviate ijime, arguing that the

punishment of the teachers involved in the Shikagawa case panicked schools and

encouraged the concealment of ijime and that public discourse shifted to placing blame

rather than discussing necessary structural issues. However, punishing teachers for child

abuse sets a clear legal and cultural precedent regarding acceptable ways to treat children.

Systemic changes will also require shifts in attitude and culture, which are more difficult to

promote and control. Furthermore, it allows teachers who do want to challenge ijime to

exert more influence since, as previously discussed, violent teachers are often granted

senior positions. Furthermore, schools were already motivated to cover up violence by

maintaining a strong reputation to secure funding, community favour, and student

recruitment (Schoolland 1986, 10). Teachers also feel pressure to conceal their colleagues’

abuse (Schoolland 1986, 13). However, the threat of legal consequences to both teachers

and the school for committing and concealing

Riley, Charlotte E. (2021). An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent
Bullying. MA Coursework. SOAS, University of London 5

violence against students, which the Act could have implemented, would dissuade violent

and intimidating teachers from entering the profession, and empower students to report

abuse to the police. This admittedly presents a causality dilemma, but Yoneyama’s dismissal

of the importance of legal consequence is not fully justified in his work. Cover ups of ijime

and abuse present obstacles for ijime prevention. Although the Act does give schools and

government bodies responsibility for prevention initiatives, these are undermined by

institutional corruption and the politicisation of ijime by Abe’s conservative LDP party.

The Act makes several improvements in the prevention of ijime. School staff must

actively prevent and detect ijime in its early stages and investigate all reports of ijime,

compared to improvements such as abusive teachers’ resignation being made after the

child’s death, as highlighted by the case studies thus far. Victims are better protected under

the Act, as local governments may involve local police when developing anti-bullying

initiatives. Schools must provide support systems for victimized children, and victims and

their guardians should be protected from the aggressor with removal from the school being

an acceptable measure. Schools must also collaborate with police if they believe a crime has

been committed. These measures do suggest a desire to better protect children and prevent

ijime incidents. However, these preventative measures are undermined by issues within the

school system, questioning how realistic they are.

The demand on schools to actively search for bullying through methods such as

surveys is a welcome departure from the onus being placed upon students to report

bullying, even when they have visible signs of abuse such as bruising and damaged property

(Yoneyama 1999, 159). However, both students and teachers have limited motivation to
Riley, Charlotte E. (2021). An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent
Bullying. MA Coursework. SOAS, University of London 6

report bullying. As highlighted by schools covering up abuse, reputation is highly important

to schools, discouraging teachers from investigating bullying. This also spurs pressure from

other parents, who have a vested interest in preserving the school’s positive perception by

universities and the community, potentially creating pressure in the victim’s wider

community to not report ijime. Furthermore, student violence is used to enforce conformity

and order in schools. Scholars have compared contemporary schools with pre-war

militarism, namely the ideology of violence ‘making a man out of the weak’ and protective

the group from individuals threatening collective order and conformity (Yoneyama 1999,

165). The investigation and reporting of bullying therefore contradict the school’s interests

and the law does not call for the regulation or inspection to ensure that schools fulfil their

responsibilities. Moreover, although an improvement, the measures to protect victims are

questionable. Ijime is predominantly perpetrated by large groups, often the whole class

(Naito and Yoneyama 2010, 319), therefore removing the victim from the class should be

one of the first priorities, rather than something schools should only consider after an

investigation. Of further concern is that parents are reluctant to report bullying to school

staff, as teachers are able to penalise the child through poor school reports and grades or

provoke further ijime (Yoneyama 1999, 178). The Act does not acknowledge this power

imbalance; decision-making power is kept within the school with no calls for external

regulation. The Act arguably tried to give students more power by requesting that schools

distribute anonymous surveys to estimate the frequency and severity of ijime. These are

however easily identified by staff who are familiar with individuals’ handwriting and writing

style and informants can be intimidated by classmates. This further highlights the need for

external regulation, as the school is a environment in which power is easy to abuse.

Moreover, the Act does not require initiatives to encourage reporting from students. Such
Riley, Charlotte E. (2021). An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent
Bullying. MA Coursework. SOAS, University of London 7

behaviour is mocked as chikuru (チクる), provoking further mockery (Yoneyama 1999, 160).

Reporting and its associated risks could cause anxiety in the victim about potentially having

to move schools, yet this is a worse situation as new students are prime targets of ijime

(Yoneyama 1999, 158), meaning that students must tolerate their current ijime or risk being

subjected to worse abuse combined with the usual problems associated with moving

schools such as making new friends.

The Act’s mention of police involvement was promising, as legal action helps to

protect victims, uphold common moral standards, and discourage ijime by students with

strong employment prospect: the situation of many aggressors (Akiba 2004, 216). Schools

are required to cooperate with police investigations yet are not required to report

suspected criminal offences, such as battery or property damage, to the police. If the victim

is too afraid to report abuse to the school, contacting the police is also unhelpful as the

school do not have any evidence of ijime to disclose to the police, increasing the risk that

allegations ultimately result in testimony alone. This also reflects the wider climate of child

abuse in Japan which is neglected by the police: symptomatic is testimony of teenage

prostitution victims that police ignored their reports of domestic abuse, despite picking

them up because of prostitution, taking them back to their abusers. The 1947 Child Welfare

Law allows children to be removed from their carers but there were only 10 instances of this

in 1990 and parents have a right to remove children from care homes (Goodman 2012, 103).

These systemic issues contextualise the need for police intervention and the school system’s

abandonment of children without support system, neither of which are not addressed by

the Act.
Riley, Charlotte E. (2021). An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent
Bullying. MA Coursework. SOAS, University of London 8

Although the Act is vague regarding initiatives that schools and local governments

should implement, it does specify the importance of moral education. It states that both

relevant organisations and parents are responsible for educating their children with ‘correct’

morality to prevent bullying and ‘promote respect’. This is politically motivated by the LDP’s

conservative values, rather than a conclusion drawn from fact finding. Conservatives in post-

war Japan predominantly blame youth issues, notably rising violence, as a lack of moral

education and the popularisation of individualism. Abe established the Education Rebuilding

Council in 2006 in response to the media panic surrounding ijime in the 2000s. The council

aimed to reform the Fundamental Law of Education to promote patriotism and instil respect

for tradition and culture in youth – this is the promotion of nationalist ideology. The 1990s

saw escalating tension between Japan and China regarding war memory, stirring nationalist

sentiment (Nie 2013, 508). Abe again pursued these aims after his return to power in 2012,

illustrating the political motivation behind the Act. It is uncertain to what extent the Act

genuinely aims to prevent ijime based on evidence, or to support the implementation of

nationalist ideology in education (Aspinall 2019, 238). Additionally, many conservatives view

corporal punishment as essential to maintain order in schools (Aspinall 2019, 239), which

potentially explains why the impact of abuse by teachers is not acknowledged by the Act

and could inhibit funding for research into the subject.

Fundamentally, the 2013 Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent Bullying is

ineffective as it fails to identity some of the most prominent factors in the pervasiveness of

ijime in Japanese schools. The role of teachers in promoting ijime through active

participation, preventing students from reporting, and modelling abusive behaviour is not
Riley, Charlotte E. (2021). An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent
Bullying. MA Coursework. SOAS, University of London 9

addressed and omitted from ijime’s legal definition. Although its prevention measures

appear promising, they ultimately place responsibility to pursue action on the children and

do not address systemic corruption present in both schools and police forces. This

evaluation indicates a serious issue in Japanese child welfare which the State have thus far

been slow to address. The child’s rights to education, welfare, and protection are not only

undermined but hindered by educational practices, which the 2013 Act failed to recognise.
Riley, Charlotte E. (2021). An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent
Bullying. MA Coursework. SOAS, University of London 10

List of works cited

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Act for the Promotion

of Measures to Prevent Bullying, c. 1-6. Available at:

https://www.mext.go.jp/en/policy/education/elsec/title02/detail02/1373868.html

(Accessed: 15 December 2021).

Akiba, Motoko (2004). ‘Nature and correlates of Ijime—Bullying in Japanese middle school’,

International Journal of Educational Research, 41 (3), pp. 216-236.

Aspinall, Robert W. (2019). ‘Violence in schools: tensions between ‘the individual’ and ‘the

group’ in the Japanese education system’, in Kingston, Jeff (ed.) Critical issues in

contemporary Japan, 2nd edn., London: Routledge, pp. 232-242.

Goodman, Roger (2012). ‘The “discovery” and “rediscovery” of child abuse (jidō gyakutai) in

Japan’, in Goodman, Roger et al. (eds.) A sociology of Japanese youth: from returnees to

NEETs. London: Routledge, pp. 81-97.

Naito, Asao and Yoneyama, Shoko (2010). ‘Problems with the paradigm: The school as a

factor in understanding bullying (with special reference to Japan)’, British Journal of

Sociology of Education, 24(3), pp. 315-330.

Nie, Hongping Annie (2013). “Gaming, nationalism, and ideological work in contemporary

China: Online games based on the war of resistance against Japan”, Journal of

Contemporary China, Ibid., pp. 499-517.

OHCHR (no date). Celebrating 30 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/CRC30Pledges/Pages/Japan.aspx

(Accessed: 15 December 2021).

Riley, Charlotte E. (2021). An evaluation of the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent
Bullying. MA Coursework. SOAS, University of London 11

Schoolland, Ken (1986). ‘Ijime: The bullying of Japanese youth’, International Education, 15

(2), pp. 5-28.

World Health Organisation (2020). Child maltreatment. Available at:

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/child-maltreatment (Accessed: 15

December 2021).

Yoneyama, Shoko (1999). The Japanese high school: silence and resistance. London:

Routledge.