They don't fight, but neither do they learn to get along. Experience shows that this behavior doesn't improve as the children reach early teens. A government report shows that of the 29,000 violent incidents in schools last year, more than half involved students in junior high. And it's not just the usual suspects. Normally quiet children are lashing out over trifling matters, often injuring classmates.
Teachers are at risk too.
For some, the government report is a reminder of how a teenager stabbed his high-school teacher to death in the central town of Kuroiso last year. In January, Tokyo teachers who tried to stop youngsters from playing with a fire hose ended up with broken bones. The problem, Ryu feels, is a society that does not value children as they are. Instead, acceptance and approval are too often based on good grades. But there are only so many prodigies.