Osaka Neyagawa City Hall Inspection Department Conducts Direct Investigation
Child and Family Agency Also Benchmarks... Expert Support for Local Governments
In Japan, a case has emerged where local governments have taken direct action to eradicate school violence, drawing attention. As cases increased in which victimized students and their families distrusted the responses of schools and frontline educational institutions when school violence occurred, local governments reportedly created special departments that can actively intervene. The Japanese central government is also planning to establish a third organization dedicated to handling school violence issues, modeled after this system.
On the 30th, the Mainichi Shimbun introduced the case of Neyagawa City in Osaka. It highlighted the fact that a third-party organization, not the school, actively engaged in bullying issues known as 'ijime.' Since 2019, Neyagawa City has established an independent Crisis Management Department Inspection Division within the city hall.
This division is composed of individuals with backgrounds such as lawyers or experience in local government welfare departments. They distribute monthly SOS leaflets to 16,000 elementary and middle school students who are subject to compulsory education. Victims of school violence can simply write their experiences on the leaflet and drop it into a mailbox without needing to affix a stamp, and the report is immediately received by the city hall’s Inspection Division. According to the city hall, 40% of reports received by the end of February came through these 'SOS leaflets.'
School Violence Checklist Operated by Neyagawa City, Osaka. The purpose is to enable victims or parents who notice signs of bullying to check and lead to early intervention. (Photo by Neyagawa City Website)
Once a report is received, an Inspection Division staff member visits the school to begin an investigation. They first contact the victim to hear the facts, asking the victim to specify the scope of the investigation and who can be informed. Based on this, they investigate the perpetrators and teachers. If school violence is confirmed, the Inspection Division staff attend meetings where perpetrators, victims, and parents meet to apologize. This means the city hall directly intervenes in school violence cases that might otherwise be quietly resolved at school. Additionally, the authority to recommend class changes or suspension of attendance has been granted to the mayor through ordinances. So far, the mayor has mediated six such cases.
An Inspection Division official explained, “The purpose of this activity is the immediate cessation of bullying,” adding, “Listening from a third-party perspective and participating in apology meetings has the advantage of making the victimized students feel understood.” However, they also noted, “Even after bullying ends, students still have school life ahead of them. Reconciliation and rebuilding relationships among students can only be done within the educational environment.”
This case is noteworthy because school violence in Japan has long been pointed out as a serious social problem. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the number of bullying cases nationwide in elementary, middle, and high schools in 2021 reached a record high of 615,351. Among these, 705 were serious incidents such as extreme choices or long-term absences by students suspected to be caused by bullying.
Accordingly, the Children and Families Agency, which will be launched on the 1st of next month to address low birth rates and child-related issues, plans to benchmark Neyagawa City’s approach to school violence. According to the agency, a new position called ‘School Violence Investigation Advisor’ will be established to support local governments so that third-party local authorities can conduct fair and prompt investigations into school violence.
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