Part of investigative records on student's suicide to be disclosed

Japan Today
Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 16:55 EST
Source: http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/422657

SHIMONOSEKI — Police have decided to disclose a part of the investigative records on the suicide of a female junior high school student in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in response to an information disclosure request from her bereaved family, the family members said Saturday. Naomi Abe, a 15-year-old senior at a Shimonoseki city-run junior high school, hanged herself at the school in April 2005 after telling her teacher that she had been suffering bullying.

In a bid to reveal the truth about her suicide, her father Yoshimitsu, 50, requested the prefectural police to disclose investigative documents last month in accordance with a prefectural ordinance. While it is rare for the police to disclose their investigative documents on a suicide caused by bullying, the Yamaguchi prefectural police apparently took into consideration the sentiments of the bereaved family.

Shortly after Naomi's death, the school denied she had been bullied but it changed its stance and apologized to the bereaved family one month later.

© 2007 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.