17-year-old high school boy leaps to his death in Kobe

The Mainichi Shimbun
November 15, 2006
Source: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20061115p2a00m0na012000c.html

KOBE -- A high school boy leaped to his death from the 13th floor of an apartment complex here Tuesday night, police said.

No suicide note has been found. Police suspect he committed suicide and are investigating the motives for his action.

Officials at the school the boy attended said they have no idea of why he took his own life. "He was never subjected to schoolyard bullying. I don't think he was dissatisfied with his school life," the vice principal said.

At about 7:10 p.m. on Tuesday, prefectural police received an emergency call from a resident of the 14-story apartment complex in the Myohoji district of Suma-ku, Kobe, reporting that someone had leaped from its 13th floor.

Officers rushed to the scene and found a boy lying there. He was rushed to hospital where he died about 2 1/2 hours later.

He was wearing a school uniform and his bag containing high school textbooks was found on the landing between the structure's 13th and 14th floors.

Local police have confirmed that the boy is a 17-year-old student at a private high school who lived near the scene.

Earlier in the day, he had attended classes as usual. Teachers said the student's grades were solid and he was good at sports, adding that he was comparatively quiet. (Mainichi)

November 15, 2006