Japan's education ministry has found that bullying at schools across the country hit a record high in fiscal 2024 for the fourth year in a row.
The ministry confirmed 769,022 cases of bullying in the year to March.
The number is broken down to 610,612 cases at elementary schools, 135,865 at junior high schools, 18,891 at senior high schools and 3,654 at schools for students with special needs.
The total marks an increase of some 36,400 from the previous fiscal year.
Asked how they dealt with students who bullied others, 61.2 percent of the schools said they notified the students' parents or guardians; 55.9 percent said they instructed the students to apologize to the victims; 4.2 percent said the principal or vice principal handled the matter.
The ministry also found that serious cases such as suicide and truancy were up 99 from the previous fiscal year to 1,405, another record high.
In about 30 percent of the cases there were problems with the initial response, such as the schools being unaware of bullying.
Online bullying increased by about 2,600 cases to more than 27,300.
Education ministry official Chijiiwa Ryoei said many cases of online bullying have become very serious by the time they surface, so the challenge is how to detect them at an early stage.

Quiz 1:
How many total cases of bullying were reported in Japan during fiscal year 2024?
A. Less than 700,000
B. Exactly 769,022
C. More than 769,022 but less than 800,000
D. More than 800,000

Quiz 2:
In which type of school were the majority of bullying cases reported in Japan during fiscal year 2024?
A. Elementary schools
B. Junior high schools
C. Senior high schools
D. Schools for students with special needs

Quiz 3:
What percentage of schools in Japan stated that they instructed the bullies to apologize to their victims?
A. Less than 50%
B. Exactly 55.9%
C. More than 55.9% but less than 60%
D. More than 60%