KANAGAWA (TR) – A male teacher at a kindergarten in Yokohama City who has been dismissed following allegations that he assaulted nine pupils says he suffered from “stress,” it has emerged.
“Everyday, stress built up,” the teacher, 23, was quoted by TV Asahi (July 29). “I became frustrated when there was a child who was unteachable.”
On July 11, a parent of a pupil at the Nagatsuta school of the Yokohama Buddy Sports Kindergarten, located in Midori Ward, lodged a complaint, saying that their child was hit by the teacher.
An examination of security camera footage showed the teacher slapping the child, a 3-year-old boy, in the face.
The management company for Yokohama Buddy Sports Kindergarten operates five schools in the city. The schools are not approved by the government.
According to a meeting held for parents on July 25, the matter emerged in late May, when another parent lodged a similar complaint. The deputy director of the management company for the school then spoke to the teacher, who denied the allegations.
In seeking to verify the claim of the teacher, the deputy director watched security camera footage taken in the classroom, which is saved for about one month. However, the deputy director only watched footage covering one day. The conclusion was that no assault took place.
After receiving the complaint in July, the school checked more footage, which confirmed that the teacher assaulted a total of nine pupils on 11 occasions since the end of June. The teacher was dismissed on July 16.
Go Kikuchi, the president of the management company, apologized. “To not be able to recognize the incident in May is inexcusable,” he told the Asahi Shimbun on July 26.
The company has established a third-party committee to work toward preventing a recurrence. As well, the company is in contact with the police.
