Calls to hotline quadruple

Part of article: Funeral held for bullied Osaka girl

The Yomiuri Shimbun
November 15, 2006
Source: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20061115TDY02007.htm

The Osaka Municipal Board of Education conducted 126 consultations--about four times more than usual--on a telephone hotline service that was extended for two hours a day over seven weekdays between Nov. 1 and 10 in an attempt to prevent students from killing themselves due to bullying.

In addition to four regular counselors, three more people from the board of education manned the hotline at the Osaka Municipal Education Center in Minato Ward from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Seventy-three, or nearly 60 percent, of the consultations concerned bullying. In one case, a primary school student confessed that she felt sad over being bullied. Although the student tried to tell a teacher about her situation, she reportedly was told the teacher was busy.

Of those calling for bullying consultations, 49 were primary school students, 18 were middle school students and five were high school students.