-Caveat Lector- I wonder if this could be attributed to overcrowding and the lack of meaningful occupation of time. Or, am I mistaken in the assumption that gangs are generally confined to the bored in the cities (as opposed to those who have ties to farms, e.g.) ? Occupation of time for youth is generally reserved for 'recreation' rather than a bonafide 'occupation' (i.e., job). There could be some tie-in to the financial uncertainties some of the Japanese face (under- or un-employment, earners spending more time at work than at home, the lure of the easy life of the gang (e.g., Yakuza), the yearning for youth to burn off energy / demonstrate their "power", and so forth) ... availability of genuine alternative avenues may be lacking or nonexistent -- kind of like when the rich can stave off the final breaths by virtue of their $$$ (until said $$$ runs out or loses its value or meaningfulness); except in this case the $$$ (Yen) may have masked underlying social ills that are now becoming visible with Japan's economic woes. Money of any kind makes wonderful papier-mache' or origami: can be lookin' good but not real solid nor, in reality, real. Pop density Japan (islands): 861/sq mile Pop density Nashville, TN: 1066/sq mile Pop density Dallas, TX: 2987/sq mile Pop density Philadelphia, PA: 11,282/sq mile Pop Density NY, NY: 23,740/sq mile (Source: World Almanac & Book of Facts, 1997) And from Agence France Presse (via Yahoo!) Tuesday December 22, 4:30 PM Suicide among Japanese youth surges TOKYO, Dec 22 (AFP) - Suicides among Japanese children have surged more than 50 percent amid an economic recession and rampant bullying at school, officials and social workers said Tuesday. A total of 581 people aged between 14 and 19 killed themselves in the 10 months to October, up 53 percent from the same period last year, according to the national police agency. Economic woes are hurting youngsters as well as their parents, said a spokesman for a welfare organisation operating a "lifeline telephone" network to prevent suicides. "Youngsters are infected with a sense of insecurity prevalent among middle-aged and older generations ... The social and economic anxiety in today's Japan seems to be related," he said. Suicide among adults has also risen, with many killing themselves to escape financial difficulties. Young people tended to withdraw into themselves with electronic gadgets and the Internet, the spokesman said. "We receive about 80 calls a day, mostly from the younger generation in their 20s and 30s. I think six percent of the total are teenagers," he said. "Teenagers today are poor at expressing their feelings and cannot communicate with others," he said. Many deaths linked to school bullying have been reported. In the latest case a 13-year-old boy was found hanged at his home in the eastern prefecture of Ibaraki last week. "I can't stand it any more," he said in a suicide note. Teachers were aware of fewer than one in three bullying cases at public schools for children aged 15 or younger, the government's management and coordination agency said Tuesday. Bullying was found in almost all schools, with a total of 2,631 cases discovered for the three years to March 1997 at 156 schools out of 165 inspected, it said. Juvenile crime was also rising. Arrests of young people for serious offences such as murder numbered 257 in the 11 months to November, the highest figure since the agency started compiling such data in 1972. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust ---------- : From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] : To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] : Subject: Kidz in Japan : Date: Wednesday, December 23, 1998 3:37 PM : : "A Liberal Democratic Party government panel on juvenile law proposed : that the minimum age for criminal punishment be lowered to 14 from the current : 16." : : : Japanese Youth Crime on the Rise : : TOKYO (AP) -- The number of serious crimes, including murder, committed by : Japanese youths surged during the first 11 months of this year, according to a : police report published Tuesday. : : A total of 144,228 young people between the ages of 14 and 19 were arrested or : taken into protective custody for alleged criminal offenses through November, : the report said, up 3.1 percent from the same period last year. : : The report also said 257 were arrested for serious crimes, including murder : and attempted murder. : : That figure was the highest since police began compiling such statistics in : 1972. : : Rising juvenile delinquency has led to a new round of soul-searching about : Japan's education system and the way children are raised. : : Previous discussions have cited the tremendous pressure on Japanese children : to conform, and to do well in highly competitive school examinations. : : In one of the most prominent cases this year, a 13-year-old junior high school : student in Tochigi prefecture, or state, north of Tokyo, stabbed his teacher : to death in January after being scolded for tardiness. : : The report did not provide any analysis for the rise in juvenile crimes. : : The report came one day after a ruling Liberal Democratic Party panel on : juvenile law proposed that the minimum age for criminal punishment be lowered : to 14 from the current 16. : : Last week, the Education Ministry said reported cases of beatings and other : violence committed by school children at Japanese schools, jumped to 29,000 : last year, up from about 11,000 in 1996. : DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. 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