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Aichi middle school student kills self over troubled ties with teacher

A boy in middle school jumped off the Grand Front Osaka building and killed himself over troubled ties with his teacher
A boy in middle school jumped off the Grand Front Osaka building and killed himself over troubled ties with his teacher (Twitter)

AICHI (TR) – School board officials here said they didn’t realize a male student who killed himself was troubled by his relationship with his teacher, despite his family pleading for help numerous times, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Feb. 11).

Officials from the Ichinomiya City Board of Education said the 14-year-old boy in his third year killed himself by jumping off the seventh floor of the Grand Front Osaka building near JR Osaka Station on Monday night.

“We didn’t realize the student was troubled by issues,” officials said. “We are deeply sorry for failing to handle the case appropriately, and strongly feel responsible.”

But the boy’s bereaved family said they had “asked the middle school to make things better all this time.”

“The parents went to the visited the school over and over since last year, and kept asking for the school to help make things better,” the boy’s bereaved family said, pointing out that school officials should have been aware the boy was troubled by his relationship with his teacher.

The boy told his family he was going to kill himself and left his home, according to his bereaved family and investigators.

He then gave his handheld gaming device to a friend, and left behind a note in which he said he was troubled by his relationship with his teacher.

The boy attended Azai Middle School, which is attended by some 600 students. Of the total, there are around 200 third-year students divided in five classes.

School board officials plan to dispatch a counselor and provide support for the students.