In my previous English lesson, my teacher asked me why ijime(bullying) appears to be prominent in Japanese schools. It is one of the preparation for an upcoming Eiken(Society for Testing English Proficiency) 1st grade interview test. I think it a frequently and polularly asked question from non-Japanese people. I would like to share my view on it.
Recently, a news report said, a school boy killed himself on the ground that his school teacher played a significant role to trigger other student's bullying. The school's principal seemed to admit the case. It is, not to mention, an unbelievable and unforgivable incident if it truly happened.
One of the reasons, in my view, that we've got so many ijime-related incidents is that Japan is a monoethnic and monoculutural society, therefore, people here tend to be embarrassed with what is different from others. Some people say it comes from the fact that Japanese people have tradiitonally relied their living upon agriculture. It means to harvest crops is required to unite and cooperate each other. This is why they've counted on team work and excluded what's seemed different. I consent to this notion somewhat.
Another reason is that people are inclined to have a group from several people. These gropes are very exclusive, therefore, some people especially who can't make clear themselves tend to feel lonely and be bullied.
More than that, mass media's behavior is also problematic. They too much focus on this kind of accidents. If they report about these incidents as a headline, they will spread all over the world immediately. It gives an impression for the rest of the world to connect Japanese with bullying.
To cope with this issue, Japanese society needs training to accept various kinds of views. In other words, we should have a mindset of diversity. I don't think it is easy to do as a matter of reality, but we can and must do it for fruitful, prosperous and cooperative future.
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