Latest 15 of 46 Total Comments Show All

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  serindipity at 04:28 PM JST - 19th June

  Regardless of your point of view or reasons. This is an accident that should never have happened and someone needs to be held responsible. I don't believe it is the teacher's fault either. The responsibility for this accident lies with the Tokyo BOE. Most of the public schools in Tokyo have been built in the last 40 years and they have had very little or no maintenance since their construction. Most of them are in appalling condition. It never ceases to amaze me how little is spent on maintaining public schools in this country. Most of them haven't had a coat of paint since they were built. Unfortunately, this will be deemed an unfortunate accident and it will be swept under the carpet. I recently read about the Jp gov addressing the safety of schools in earthquakes. How many schools suffered severe damage in last week's quake? Too many! Luckily it was not a school day or many families could have been mourning their kids as well as the 11 confirmed deaths. Is Japan a third world country?

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  jewel at 05:33 PM JST - 19th June

  I cant speak for Tokyo but in my town the schools have done beautiful renovation of the schools. I think enough tragedy has occurred so we shouldnt be going after someones blood to make someone pay for this. I think a much more responsible, mature, and effective response is to look at this tragedy and see how schools can prevent this from occurring again. If we just fire or send someone to prison, the only outcome of that is another family suffering and students are still at risk of another accident. I dont think ppl should over react by being overly protective or overly punitive but using some good common sense like putting a barrier over the windows and telling the kids about the dangers of stepping on plastic windows would be a good starting point. A second measure would be giving a little authoritative power back to teachers so if kids are goofing around in a way that could put them in danger, the teacher could have enough authority to say "cut it out" and the kids would stop because they know the teacher has the authority to make them if they dont listen. The solution is not that hard to figure out, and heads should not roll UNLESS administration does nothing to prevent this in the future or if its discovered that someone realized the danger but chose to say or do nothing about it.

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  saintseiya at 05:35 PM JST - 19th June

  Happened 2 time back in my country in europe, when I was a child. Same case!

  The problem with japanese schools is (next to the fact that they are all old crappy buildings) is that they don't have vertical roofs, but instead have flat roofs like appartements.

  What have been done since the accidents back when I was a child, is complete impossibility for students to be able to access any other school rooms, then thoses needed for studying. Not only the roof is dangerous, also basements and elevator shafts are.

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  Triumvere at 05:54 PM JST - 19th June

  ....

  Have we reached the point where there is no such thing as an "accident" anymore?

  I have no facts other than those presented here, so I cannot make a judgement in this particular case. However, it seems to me that the instant a story like this surfaces, there are immediately cries of "heads must role!" before any sort of investigation is conducted. And their must be an investigation, always, but that does not necessarily mean there has to be someone at fault.

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  Noripinhead at 06:14 PM JST - 19th June

  This is just an observation which may or may not have anything to do with this accident, but why in Japanese construction are the vertical frames of doors sandwiched between a horizontal plank instead of having the horizontal piece sitting on top of the vertical pieces? That way, the horizontal beam would be supported by the vertical beams, instead of having only nails (and friction) to support its weight against gravity. Look at a Japanese door frame next time and you'll see what I mean.

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  pinga at 06:56 PM JST - 19th June

  I know many Japanese schools use roof space, however because it is widespread, doesnt mean it is safe or right.

  The school our child goes to in Tokyo, doesnt use the roofspace. It has adequate playground space at floor level, where children belong.

  Its the schools fault, they let children on a roof with a dangerous skylight. The children shouldnt have been up there, and any space they use should be made safe.

  This is in no way the boys fault, it is the fault of the adults who led him up there and failed to supervise properly.

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  williamsmith at 07:23 PM JST - 19th June

  Sorry it is not truly an accident if the roof activities are not supportive and/or dexterity. Dexterity is a factor in this. Children need to be in better shape and withstanding awkward circumstances. Thsi would not have happened in the Edo period.

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  flammenwerfer at 10:00 PM JST - 19th June

  Freak accident, case closed, move along people nothing to see here. My condolences to his family.

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  mikihouse at 11:52 PM JST - 19th June

  Not a freak accident. It was an accident waiting to happen. If you want to measure something, you don't need to be on the roof for one. Second, there was no written warning whatsoever that walking on top of a skylight is dangerous. Before the students climb the roof, the teacher should made sure that some rules were discussed. It was never mentioned that the teacher made any precaution before proceeding to the roof. Curiousity once killed a cat.

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  some14some at 07:07 AM JST - 20th June

  Really shocking to hear that this is not the only accident, 4 more lives were lost in 4 more 'similar type' of accidents in past.

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  pinga at 11:45 AM JST - 20th June

  Manslaughter through negligence, not an accident.

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  seimei at 01:57 PM JST - 20th June

  Practical mathematics on the roof is a good idea, but what about some more life skills like "How to fix a toilet" and "how a car's engine works" and even more important "the dangers of playing around on a roof".

  The kids in the apartment opposite mine play on the roof all the time (9 stories high). Their parents don't seem to care and the local cops simply said there is nothing they can do.

  Seems that common sense and practical education don't feature in the education of today's youth.

  Very sad what happened, but like people always say, it could have been prevented.

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  jewel at 02:03 PM JST - 20th June

  I find the news reports in Japan lack details. This article did not report whether rules had been discussed or not about roof top behavior so we cant make broad assumptions that the school or teacher never set guidelines. Personally I find the Japanese to have guidelines to almost every behavior. When my son entered 1st grade at a public Japanese school, in the first few weeks his class had to tour all parts of the school and learn about where the different rooms were and what behavior was expected of them and that included the roof. When he transferred schools in the 3rd grade, the new school put him through the same old routine. So it is possible there were guidelines presented to the kids for rooftop behavior, but we dont know based on this article.

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  pimpninja1 at 05:44 AM JST - 21st June

  Before I do anything I want to express my sorrow at a young life bring snuffed out before its time, and to say the grief felt by the family must be immeasurable. With that said, why must there be the Spanish inquisition in this case? I understand the use of the roof is common. It also must be changed IMHO. But do we need to have a sacrificial lamb to heap blame upon?

  Pimpninja say, scapegoat good at giving angry mob target, not good at raising dead.

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  Youdontknow at 11:07 AM JST - 22nd June

  What the hell is a teacher doing taking 12 year old kids up onto the roof of a building in the first place!? Why not just go out onto the sports field and 'measure strides' there?

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