School says teacher provoked bullying of student who hanged himself

A junior high school in Chikuzen, Fukuoka Prefecture, said Sunday its teacher provoked bullying against a second-year student, who hanged himself last week, and apologized to his parents.

According to the father of the student, 13, his homeroom teacher in his first year revealed to his classmates what his parents had consulted the teacher about. Afterwards, the teacher called the boy a "hypocrite" or "liar" in front of his classmates, eventually making the relationship between him and the classmates awkward. The student left four notes, in which he said, "I cannot live anymore because of bullying."