A “Bullying Video” of an Elementary School Student Being Thrown into the Sea Goes Viral… A Legal Expert Explains “Criminal Liability of Junior High School Students

An elementary school student crying after being dropped into the sea

In response to the proliferation of bullying videos on the Internet, six ministries and agencies, including the Child and Family Affairs Agency, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, held a liaison conference on anti-bullying measures on January 16, 2011. In response to the proliferation of videos and postings that lead to the violation of children’s human rights, they are asking for the cooperation of social networking service providers to promptly delete the videos and postings in accordance with the rules of use.

In the midst of this situation, “Deathdollarsnote,” an exposing account that has been posting bullying videos, posted a new bullying video, which has become a hot topic.

<A certain elementary school in Osaka Prefecture, assailant student Remarks : After being pinned down with wings, pushed into the sea Assailant: Junior high school student in Osaka Prefecture, Victim: Elementary school student in Osaka Prefecture.

The explanation is given as follows, and three videos are posted on the website.

In the first video, the assailant, who appeared to be a junior high school student, choked the victim, who appeared to be an elementary school student, from behind with a chokehold. The victim is mosaicked, but the assailant’s face is exposed without mosaic. There seemed to be several people around him who looked like classmates, and they were laughing and giggling.

“This is really bad, let go of me once, you’re bullying me!”

The victim was then choked to death.

After the strangulation, even through the mosaic, we can see the victim child rubbing her eyes with her hands. It is clear that the child is crying, and it is not a “joke” at all.

In other videos, the child was in the water.

In the first video, the child is wearing the same blue clothes as when he was strangled, but in the second video, his skin is exposed and he appears to be unclothed. When the victim child cries aloud, the assailants say, “The police are here! I cried!” and other such jokes.

In Kumamoto, a junior high school boy was arrested.

The assailants appear to be shooting from an embankment, which appears to be too high for an elementary school student to climb on his own. If they strangle him and then push him into the sea, he could die. Many people are outraged by the video, and it has caused a firestorm. Nara City Councilor Hezumaryu, who co-stars with Masao Mado, the founder of Deathdoll Note, and is working together to fight bullying, was also outraged and posted, “Hezumaryu is on the move.

Hezumaryu was quick to take action, standing at a location where he was believed to be at the scene of the incident in the afternoon of January 18,

[Report] We have identified the site of the bullying (attempted murder). I think the child who was pushed into the sea must have really suffered.

The government is also involved in the case.

The “bullying video” has become a social problem, even involving the government. The mother of the victim filed a damage report regarding the Kumamoto assault video, which has already been spread. On January 16, Kumamoto Prefectural Police arrested a junior high school boy (15) on suspicion of injury.

What about the “choking and pushing into the sea” incident in Osaka? The assailant appears to be quite young, but will he be charged with a crime?

Attorney Kenta Morimitsu of Morimitsu Law Office explained.

If the perpetrator is under 13 years of age, the police will notify the child guidance center or refer the case to the family court for rehabilitation, but he will not be held criminally responsible. Criminal responsibility is only imposed on those who are 14 years of age or older; if they are 14 years of age or older and found criminally responsible, they may be charged with assault or attempted murder, depending on a variety of circumstances, including the health of the person involved, where and when the act was committed, and other factors.”

The names and even the junior high schools of the students involved have been identified, although their true identity is unknown. In some cases, the names and even the families of the students may be exposed through “private punishment on the Internet. What will be the outcome of this “Internet exposure” beyond the law?