Last week, a 13-year old boy at a school in northern Tokyo stabbed a female teacher after she asked him why he was late for his class. She was killed in the attack. In many countries, two such incidents involving juveniles, even on consecutive weeks, would probably not have provoked calls for nationwide restrictions on teenagers. But Japan, which has a murder rate about a tenth that of the United States, and a quarter that of Germany, has long prided itself on being a safe country. And government statistics have shown that violent incidents involving high school students have tripled over the past decade.
Japanese commentators blame the rise on a variety of influences.
They say there are too many television programmes featuring glamorous, violent villains and they also criticise the competitive education system for putting too much pressure on teenagers. There have also been calls for the legal system to be toughened so that criminal charges can be brought against those under 16. There may be an element of over-reaction in this response but there's no doubt that violent teenage crime is forcing Japan to question its view of itself.