Students of Professor Steve McCarty won the annual Osaka Jogakuin University Presentation Contest with this 3-minute discussion. Bullying occasionally happens in a group-oriented society as an outlet for frustrations, but the students never excuse it. They give examples of YouTube, sumo wrestling, and mobile phone harassment. They examine the causes of bullying in Japan and propose solutions.
The script is available to read while listening to the podcast:
Causes and solutions for bullying in Japan
by students of Professor Steve McCarty
Our presentation is about the causes and solutions for bullying in Japan.
First of all, bullying is when a person uses their strength or power to hurt weaker people. Here are some examples in Japan recently.
In the past, most bullying took place at school, so when kids got home they could find sanctuary. But mobile phones are so important to children that they tend to keep them switched on all the time. So if a child is harassed by mobile phone calls, it can seem like there is no escape.
According to the JAPAN TIMES, a group of six boys thought it’d be fun to video themselves bullying. But it ended up being seen around the world on YouTube.
Japan’s national sport, sumo, is receiving a lot of media attention due to a shocking event. The stable boss hit a young wrestler with a beer bottle, then others beat and kicked him. This bullying led to his death. In sumo and other professional sports, there is too much competition with money at stake. They need to follow the rules of fair play and go back to their roots in the Shinto religion.
Often parents and teachers dismiss bullying among kids as a normal part of growing up. But bullying can lead children to feel tense and afraid. If kids try to stop it, they may become the next target of bullying. Bullies like to dominate others and they are generally focused on themselves. They often have poor social skills. Stress and pressure to conform to groups lead kids with poor social skills to bully those who seem different.
In school, everyone needs to change their attitude not to accept bullying. Parents need to be aware of bullying, if their children’s attitude is strange or gloomy. Teachers can use circle time to tackle prejudice and discrimination. It’s not easy for parents to hear that their own children have been bullying, but they should help their children change. If adults address the problem, children will open their minds to parents and teachers, and bullying will be improved little by little.
Please help. Thank you.
---------------Japancasting Podcast is based on the content by Prof Steve McCarty.
About Steve McCarty: born in Boston, a longtime Professor of English in Osaka, a Japanese government lecturer, and the World Association for Online Education President. Asian Studies specialist, fluent in Japanese, and highly cited author. The author’s homepage can be accessed here.
