8-year-old boy dies after fall from 4th-floor Saitama school balcony

Friday 11th September, 08:41 AM JST

SAITAMA —

A 3rd year student at Shiba-minami elementary school in Kawaguchi City died on Thursday after falling about 12 meters from a balcony on the school’s 4th floor. The 8-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital but died about 4 hours later, police said.

According to police and school officials, hand prints that appear to be the boy’s were found on the 1.2-meter-tall railing on the balcony outside a 4th floor multi-purpose room. The incident occurred at around 3:30 p.m., and although there were a few students who stayed after school in the schoolyard, no one was in the classroom when the boy fell.

An adult accompanying a student who was visiting the school saw the boy fall and called police.

Shigeru Kurosu, 56, principal of the school, said, “It was so sudden and we’re all really shocked. The boy’s head teacher said nothing was unusual about him before the accident.”

News reports

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Latest 15 of 23 Total Comments Show All

Osakadaz at 09:55 AM JST - 11th September

my school is very strict about leaving students alone after school in the shool for this very reason.
fishy at 10:52 AM JST - 11th September

1.2 meter railing on the balcony. Average Japanese 8-year-olds are somewhere between 120cm and 135cm or so.. My older son is 7 years old and he's 131cm tall. So we cannot say the railing wasn't high enough. The boy had to intentionally climb up. I hope people are not going to be stupid and blame on the school.
dr_jones at 11:43 AM JST - 11th September

Is it that season again? For a year you hear none of such accidents. Then at once JT posts 4-5 in a row! Something's smelly here!
kirakira25 at 12:10 PM JST - 11th September

I hope people are not going to be stupid and blame on the school.

I agree but I can almost guarantee you they will.

It does sound odd that an 8 year old alone could fall like that. Could be a suicide, it isn`t a total improbability, but I think a more likely probability is as inakarob said - an 8 year old that just pushed himself too far. Tragic. Imagine being the parents and getting that phone call.
fishy at 01:07 PM JST - 11th September

@kirakira25 --Imagine being the parents and getting the phone call... That was exactly what I was thinking.. Can you imagine? That would be terrible.
bobbafett at 01:48 PM JST - 11th September

I'm sure people just stood around and watched.

the powers of a school nurse are somewhat limited and probably do not encompass a 12 meter fall. The lack of a medical facility for one may hinder a school nurse. and what would you do pray tell? perform miraculous life saving techniques to the adulation of gawkers and busybodies?
spudman at 06:03 PM JST - 11th September

ambulance and fire are 119, cops are 110. If the child was dead which anyone could probably ascertain, then the police would be the right action. Often 119 calls trigger an automatic police response as well. Anything that mentions accident will signal the boys in blue. These things happen, any parents nightmare. RIP young fella.
Apsara at 06:33 PM JST - 11th September

A kid fell out of a window when I was at primary school- he was just messing around, climbing in the window frame, and slipped. Far more likely scenario than an 8-year-old committing suicide, in my opinion. We used to climb trees far higher than that- we would have been history if we had missed our footing. Kids do things like this all the time.
usaexpat at 11:02 PM JST - 11th September

Doing a stunt or topping himself? Guess we'll never know.
inkjet at 12:45 AM JST - 12th September

i wouldn't comment on this particular case. i don't know enough of the details. but in general i'm often surprised here in japan by the lack of concern parents/guardians show when kids seem to be putting themselves into dangerous situations.

i have to stop myself from telling strangers' kids to be cautious. my instinct is to act but as an outsider i'm afraid i'd insult someone. so i just watch nervously.
Suzaku77 at 01:00 AM JST - 12th September

This is the third time this week that I read an article that dealt with a small child or an infant falling from a three to six story building... For the infants, where are the parents? Why aren't they directly under their watchful eyes like they're supposed to be? And for the child, God knows what that child was thinking before and in between the moments of him falling from the classroom window. I really hope that parents will take the proper steps for the well-being of their children. This is starting to get a little too outrageous.
Icewind007 at 01:42 AM JST - 12th September

Most likely the kid was just playing around. Suicide at that age is pretty over the top, but I supposed it's not impossible in that society.

What on earth were they doing calling the POLICE?! It's a freakin' medical emergency, not a crime.

Both will be involved no matter what. It is an incident and 119 is going to be the number for an incident. The police are probably even better at getting the medical personnel there anyways.
aelieth at 01:57 AM JST - 12th September

Yeah, kid just being stupid probably. I did the same type of things, always pushed my own limits. It's what we do as humans, especially males. If we did not take these chances we would not have the technology we do today. My brothers and I would jump from a tree as high as a second story to the ground below, usually over and over again and would keep trying to jump from a higher spot.

In other words, his little gamble did not pay off. His parents will be horribly hurt but in the broad view of things he only did what a kid normally does and that is be curious and stupid, which all normal kids are.
kokuryu at 02:47 AM JST - 12th September

Yeah, it sounds more like he was messing around and fell. Definitely all to common - but actually for some reason I always have had this image that Japanese kids were less prone to doing that than kids anywhere else in the world - but maybe not - maybe climbing is one of those "boys must climb things" in genetics everywhere.
kawaiitenshi at 01:26 PM JST - 12th September

poor little love.what a horrid sight for the student visiting the school too. unfortunately accidents happen, here's to hoping some laws regarding railings and guards on balconies above a certain height are amended.