School (corporal punishment)

Current status

What is corporal punishment?

“Corporal punishment” refers to the infliction of physically painful punishment in order to discipline a child. According to the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, in addition to punching or kicking, throwing a ballpoint pen, not letting a child go to the bathroom, or forcing a child to sit on the floor for a long period of time are also considered corporal punishment as acts that cause “physical pain” to the child. When a student commits a violent act against a teacher or another student, the teacher's use of force in self-defense or to restrain the student does not count as corporal punishment. Acts of corporal punishment violate a child's dignity, character, and right to be protected from violence and are not authorized.

Corporal punishment in the school environment has been prohibited in Japan for about 140 years since the “Education Ordinance” of 1879, and currently it is prohibited under Article 11 of the “School Education Law” enacted in 1947. On the other hand, the Law also stipulates teachers' disciplinary authority, which allows them to impose discipline on students that does not involve physical pain. Examples of acceptable disciplinary actions include assigning learning tasks and cleaning, after-school “detention,” and making students stand up during class. However, there are some opinions that such "strict guidance" that involves disciplinary actions may not lead to long-term development of children, as students are guided by “whether or not the teacher will be angry” and do not develop the ability to judge for themselves what is the right thing to do.

Effects of corporal punishment on children

Corporal punishment inflicted on a child can have a variety of negative effects on the child's mind and body. In addition to direct physical harm, corporal punishment can lead to deep emotional trauma and may cause mental illness and non-attendance at school. It may also encourage students to “solve problems by force,” which may lead to bullying and an increase in violent problems between students. Corporal punishment is also said to have a negative impact on the development of children's personalities. These negative effects are not limited to the students who receive corporal punishment, but also extend to those who witness and hear the punishment.

Unending corporal punishment

In recent years, the number of cases of corporal punishment has been on the decline, but it still remains a persistent problem. Corporal punishment in schools occurs not only in regular school activities, but also in club activities, and it has been pointed out that there is still an atmosphere of acceptance of corporal punishment in the field of sports. The news of corporal punishment incidents is often seen in the news, and it can be said that further measures are needed.

Improvements

The 2013 case of a student who committed suicide after being subjected to corporal punishment at the basketball team of Osaka Municipal Sakuraomiya High School (now Osaka Prefectural Sakuraomiya High School) has triggered a growing awareness in society that corporal punishment is unacceptable. In response to this incident, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology issued a notice to boards of education nationwide, clarifying the ambiguous line between “coaching” and “corporal punishment” by providing specific examples and strengthening measures. In addition, a detailed nationwide survey on corporal punishment was conducted. Specifically, private and national schools, which had previously been excluded from the survey, were included, and for the first time, students and their parents were also surveyed. The number of teachers and staff disciplined for corporal punishment was approximately seven times that of the previous year.

After the incident, each prefecture created guidelines for the prevention of corporal punishment, and measures were taken to raise awareness in the educational field. Subsequently, in 2018, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology established comprehensive guidelines for club activities, which also called for the thorough eradication of corporal punishment. Efforts are also being made to provide anger management training for teachers and club activity instructors to prevent corporal punishment, which is often carried out in an emotional and affective manner.