HOKKAIDO: High school student found hanged

The Asahi Shimbun
February 9, 2008
Source: http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200802090077.html

MEMURO--A 17-year-old boy who was once bullied by students was found hanging in a school bathroom, police said.

The first-year student at Shirakaba Gakuen High School here was taken to a hospital but confirmed dead Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. No suicide note was found, but police suspect suicide. (IHT/Asahi: February 9, 2008)

High school student uses necktie to hang himself in school bathroom

The Mainichi Shimbun
February 8, 2008
Source: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080208p2a00m0na034000c.html

MEMURO, Hokkaido -- A male student committed suicide inside a bathroom at a private high school here, it was announced on Friday.

Police are investigating whether there was any trouble involving the student, such as bullying.

A school employee on patrol found a 16-year-old student hanging from a necktie inside a bathroom at Shirakaba Gakuen High School in Memuro, Hokkaido, at around 6:05 p.m. on Wednesday.

The student was taken to a hospital in Obihiro, but he was confirmed dead at 7:15 p.m. No suicide note has been found.

Around May last year, the school learned that the freshman student had been beaten and kicked by three senior students after his mother consulted with the school over an incident. School officials warned the three senior students and they stopped making contact with the student.

On Jan. 31 this year, the mother consulted with the school again, saying, "My son demands a lot of money from me. I wonder if someone is demanding money from him." The mother also said her son was telling her, "I'm tired of life."

On Wednesday, the student had told the coach of the badminton club that he would skip practice that day because he was not feeling well.

"We take it seriously when a thing like this happens at school. We want to know the truth behind what drove him into a corner," said Osamu Kinoshita, principal of the school.

（Mainichi Japan） February 8, 2008