Скачать или смотреть Ijime – Inside Japan’s Silent Bullying Culture and Its Hidden Scars

In Japan, bullying has a special name… and a special shape.

🩹 *Ijime (いじめ / 苛め)*

It doesn’t always look like fists and bruises.
Often, it’s *smiles on the surface**… and **social death* underneath.

Japan’s education ministry and the 2013 *Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent Bullying* define bullying as physical or psychological acts by one child or more toward another child in the same school or relationship that cause physical pain or psychological suffering — including online.

In practice, *ijime* often means:

Repeated teasing and hurtful comments
Being ignored by the whole class as if you don’t exist
Group threats, gossip, humiliation, “jokes” that never stop
Sometimes violence, extortion, or forced “games” that go too far

Researchers describe ijime as a **group phenomenon**: aggression coming from a group toward one weaker target inside a class or peer group, often using exclusion and psychological pressure more than pure physical attacks.

📊 How big is ijime now?

Official surveys by Japan’s Ministry of Education (MEXT) show school bullying cases have exploded over the last decade:

In the 2022 school year, about *681,948 bullying cases* were recognized in elementary, junior high and high schools — a record high at that time, and the 10th straight yearly increase.
In the 2024 school year, reported bullying cases climbed again to around **769,022**, the highest ever recorded.
At the same time, the number of children refusing to attend school long-term has reached *over 350,000* in recent years, with bullying listed among key factors.

🧠 Why does ijime hit so hard?

Scholars and educators point to Japan’s strong emphasis on *group harmony (shūdan seikatsu)* and conformity. Students who stand out — because of appearance, personality, disability, foreign background, or just “being different” — are at higher risk of being pushed out through ijime.

Inside the classroom, power is subtle:

The bully is often not a single “villain” but the **group mood**.
Many classmates are **passive bystanders**, afraid that if they defend the victim they’ll become the next target.

🛡️ How is Japan responding?

The 2013 *Anti-Bullying Act* made schools and local governments legally responsible for prevention, early detection and strong action in serious cases.
MEXT now collects detailed national data every year, and thresholds for “counting” bullying were broadened so more cases are recognized.
A new Children and Families Agency is working with local governments on consultation systems outside school to support bullied children.

Still, ijime remains a **silent crisis**: many cases stay hidden, students don’t speak up, and some victims develop school refusal (futōkō), depression, self-harm or worse.

In this episode of **Black Butterfly Key**, we’ll explore:

What makes ijime different from “normal” fighting
Why group-based exclusion cuts so deep
How record-high bullying numbers may be both a crisis and a sign of better reporting
And what ijime reveals about the darker side of group harmony — in Japan and beyond

⚠️ If you are experiencing bullying or thinking about self-harm in any way, please reach out to someone you trust or a local support line in your country.
You deserve safety. You deserve to be here.

Welcome to *Black Butterfly Key* – where we open the files on the darkest classrooms.
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