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The majority of reported bullying incidents among students in Japan involved **** the victim, in academic year 2024. That year, Japan had over **reported bullying cases among the student body. Following the enactment of the anti-bullying legislation in 2013, the government required schools to implement measures to identify bullying at an early stage and report even minor cases, such as teasing.

Why is bullying so prevalent in Japan?

“The nail that sticks out gets hammered down” is a well-known Japanese proverb. Standing out can be a difficult path to navigate, especially at a young age. Japan, a culture infamous for its quest for conformity, struggles with an upwards trend of bullying behavior across all school levels. Discrimination as well as physical and mental abuse among students is becoming a growing concern to school authorities and parents alike. Being different, and therefore being at a higher risk of being singled out and bullied, not only refers to deficits in appearance, behavior, or performance, but equally to children, who attract (unwanted) attention due to overachievement, unique talents, or exceptional looks. Opening up about their torment can be an almost unfeasible task for the victims, since the sense of not wanting to burden someone else with one's own problems appears to be deeply engrained into Japanese society.

Measures to prevent bullying in Japanese schools

Several cases of bullying among children made headlines because they led to fatal consequences. Despite only a small share of juvenile suicides being officially attributed to bullying, it can be assumed that dark figures are much higher, considering that the reasons behind most suicides stay unclear. With not only bullying, but also suicide numbers among students rising over the last years, authorities started to implement various measures to counteract harassment at schools. Common practices include informative staff meetings, raising awareness of bullying among the student body, and improving consultation systems. Recent efforts evolve around the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) to establish early warning systems for cases with a potentially severe outcome and to support information exchange across the teaching staff.