Many local governments are reluctant to publicize the results of a government investigation into serious cases of bullying in schools, according to a survey conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun. Only 30 percent of local bodies that participated in the Yomiuri survey has released the government's findings.
The survey was conducted on a total of 105 local bodies, including governments of major cities and Tokyo's 23 wards, to establish if they had released the results of the bullying investigation, which was conducted by the Education, Culture, Sports Science and Technology Ministry.
In the investigation, 47 local governments confirmed that "serious bullying" cases occurred at public elementary and junior high schools over three years through the 2017 academic year. The Yomiuri Shimbun learned that 15 of the 47 local bodies -- or 30 percent -- publicized the results of the ministry's investigation online or in a press release.
The law for promoting measures to prevent bullying that came into force in September 2013 defines "serious bullying" as cases in which a child experiences physical or mental harm, or loss of property. It obligates schools and boards of education to establish third-party committees to investigate such cases.
According to the ministry's investigation, 1,184 such cases occurred at elementary, junior high and senior high schools over the three academic years from 2015 to 2017.
As part of efforts to prevent such cases from recurring, the ministry has issued guidelines that state that "it is desirable to release the results of the investigation unless there are special reasons not to do so." However, the law does not set clear rules regarding the release of results.
The Yomiuri Shimbun conducted the survey in November and December last year. All of the 105 surveyed local governments, including government-ordinance designated major cities, prefectural capitals, major cities and the 23 wards in Tokyo, submitted responses.
Of them, 47 local governments recognized at least 143 serious cases, 45 local bodies said there were no such cases, and 13 did not confirm or deny the existence of such cases.
The city of Yokohama decided last year to release the results in principle, without disclosing parts that bullying victims did not want to be publicized.
Meanwhile, 26 local governments said they would not release the results, with many citing such reasons as "Individuals and cases could be identified" and "The feelings of victims and the future lives of children should be taken into consideration."
Some local governments seemed to be concerned about the possibility of children who cooperated in the investigation being harassed. Six local governments said they would provide the results if they received an information disclosure request.
The 15 local governments that released the results of the investigation have used the findings for such purposes as faculty and staff training.
Among the local bodies that did not release the results, six said they had made no use of the government's findings.
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