HOKKAIDO (TR) – In 2021, a female middle school student in Sapporo City committed suicide due to bullying by classmates.
The lawyer for the parents of the girl said last week that they have agreed to a settlement of 60 million yen in compensation from the city due to neglect, reports Hokkaido News UHB (May 16).
According to a lawsuit filed by the family last year, the girl was bullied for more than two years, dating back to when she was an elementary school student. Messages from her classmates said things like, “Hey, hey, hang yourself and die.”
The girl reported the bullying in a questionnaire and attempted suicide by jumping off the roof of the school building just before graduation from her elementary school, but the school did not take any concrete action. The bullying continued after she entered middle school. In October 2021, the girl committed suicide by hanging herself at home.
The compensation sought from the city was based on the claim that long-term neglect by faculty at the schools was the cause of the suicide.
In April, the Sapporo District Court recommended a settlement between the city and the family. During the proceedings, the city acknowledged a causal relationship between bullying and the suicide and issued an apology.
