OKAYAMA (TR) – A female nursery school teacher in the town of Kumenan has resigned after security camera footage caught her physically abusing a child who was playing with a cup during lunch, local authorities said.
According to Nippon News Network (Sep. 8), the incident occurred in mid-June at the town-run Tanjoji Nursery School. According to the town board, the teacher, who is in her 40s, became enraged when a child began playing with a cup during feeding time. She shoved the child to the floor, and when the victim attempted to stand up, she yanked them back down onto their backside twice.
The assault then escalated. The teacher reportedly grabbed the child by both arms, hoisted them up to her waist level, and carried them into a restroom where she forced the child to lie flat on their back.
While several other staff members and children were in the room during the initial altercation, the other teachers claimed they were distracted by other toddlers and failed to notice the abuse.
The violence only came to light after the victim’s parents discovered bruises on the child’s arms and reported the injuries to the school. A subsequent review of the facility’s security camera footage confirmed the parents’ suspicions, capturing the teacher’s violent actions on video.
Following an investigation in July, the Okayama Prefectural Government officially certified the incident as child abuse.
During questioning by town officials, the teacher admitted to the allegations. “I snapped and completely lost my cool,” she reportedly said.
The woman voluntarily resigned from her position at the end of last month. In response to the scandal, town officials announced they will implement new training protocols at all town-run nursery schools in an effort to prevent future incidents.
