A little background: Yes, these were some of my junior high school kids. No, they didn’t fight me during any lesson. Yes, they were very rowdy… sometimes. No, I don’t think they were necessarily “bad” but attention seekers, instead.

You heard that right. Kids will bully the ALT or “gaijin.” Is this the kid’s fault, the parent’s or society’s? How can you deal with it yourself and make the best out of the situation?

Bullying by school children happens; reasonably often as the new person by naught kids, most of the time unintentional. There are ways to prevent bullying, but children in schools have ultimate power over teachers thanks to MEXT. Japanese school children have the right to an education until high school. Yes, high school is not mandatory in Japan. It’s true!

From elementary to junior high school is compulsory for students. Children can come and go as they please because it’s impossible to kick students out of school for being wrong. The law protects them, which is a good thing, but it doesn’t go far enough to cover teachers and other students, IMO.

I had some of the worse children possible, and I won’t blame them as some have “monster parents,” or they are raised in poor neighborhoods that local and federal governments don’t attempt to lift out of poverty. Japan’s government lacks behind just like other G7 nations.

“I do not believe that Abe has any interest in child poverty, or poverty in general … for the simple reason that it’s not a vote winner,” Aoto said. “Politicians only seem to think about the short-term. They’re unable to think about the lives of children today and the people they will become in 40 or 50 years from now.” – The Guardian

Being American and from a poor town, I have the same first-hand experience, but in the US system, it is possible to throw children out of school in juvenile detention centers or “Juve” to make their lives worse than they already are. I doubt putting the kids below in one would solve any problems. Some of them might act this way as they may only have single working parents.

“Japanese single mothers carry disproportionately heavy financial burdens. In Japanese culture, if a divorce occurs, the mother receives full child custody in nearly 80% of divorce cases. Right now, there is no enforcement of child support programs — meaning that single mothers in Japan may take on 100% of the financial burden of raising children. As a result, thousands of single mothers end up in poor economic standing and have to seek government assistance. Because the subject of single motherhood due to divorce is taboo, thousands of women live without assistance. This leaves many of them in extreme poverty.” – BorgenProject

Let’s get back to the topic. Japanese students can’t necessarily be kicked out of the classroom no matter how bad they are to you, other students, and teachers. Staff and teachers can calm them down or take them out of the room, briefly, but ultimately they can come back. Only until something physically violent happens, authorities can intervene like the police. I’ve only experienced this once when a kid broke a window with a brick. Teachers can show muscle like breaking their hand on a wall, one of mine did, but they can’t physically punish students or send them home.

Some parents are just as bad as their children. Yankii or “Karen” / “monster” parents are guardians who are mobster-like lacking education, money, and upbringing. Yankii is its own subculture in Japan and is nothing new. Most yankiis, even the yakuza, are generally nice people who value family and pride first. Don’t assume a parent or child is bad because they are yankii. Rebellion shouldn’t be observed as a bad thing.

Reference: SKDESU.com

• Bosozoku – They are gangs of wild bikers;
• Bancho – A leader of a group of criminals;
• Tsubari – Term used for the blue boys of the 1970s;
• Sukeban – Refers to a group of female offenders or a chief;
• Yakuza – It refers to the Japanese Mafia;
• Gyaru – A style of fashion and culture that can be kind of aggressive;
• Hashiriya – It literally means street runner, a movement similar to bosozoku;
• Ijime – It literally means bullying, something that happens in Japanese schools;
• Furyo – It also means delinquent or some bad person;
• Chinpira – Little yakuza apprentice, punk, delinquent girl;

Bosozoku, gyaru, and Yakuza should stand out most for Japanophiles interested in these subcultures. Many of these terms I am unfamiliar with, but children in school who adhere to yankii-ness are grouped into these sub-categories. You can be a gyaru and bozoku (shorten term). I have a good friend who was throughout HS but now is “normal” and looks back on those days with some embarrassment. It’s cool to be a rebel when people look down on you. Are my previous JHS kids Bozoku, you tell me? In any case, I thought they were still cool… even if they didn’t care about learning English.

GTO or “Great Teacher Onizuka” sheds light on this subject as Mr. Onizuka was a once bozoku member and stood up to the yakuza to only become a school teacher and help troubled kids. (I highly recommend the original anime, manga, and TV show. It is still excellent to this day!) Every Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) who wanted to become a teacher in Japan was probably inspired by GTO or Gokusen. You shouldn’t think JHS or HS will be fun and entertaining like anime. It’s not because you don’t have the authority, Japanese skill level or “gang” experience to be like Eikichi Onizuka! This doesn’t mean you should let children bully you.

Damn that kid looks badass! Would you be scared of him? I wasn’t…but he wasn’t allowed to have dyed hair in school, crazy clothing, or a giant flag; he was actually kind of cool and into skateboarding like me. We were supposed to go skate but that never panned out. He wasn’t a great kid in class but enjoyed playing English games. He liked to get in fights with the teachers and play is his phone during lessons. However, I did get him to behave most of the time with fun activities. I had no idea Interac. would put in this kind of school. Sakai-city is the Bronx of Osaka.

5 Ways to Prevent Bullying

A few things you can do against being bullied and prevent others from “ijime“

1. Tell your head teacher, homeroom teacher, staff, administrators, or tantosha first! If you feel bullied by someone, even a teacher, let a higher-up know! Do NOT let it affect your school life! No one should be giving you BS at work. It’s a professional place for education. If you let bullying persist, it will ruin your time as an ALT and JET.
2. Stand up for yourself. You shouldn’t let others bully you. It can really affect you psychologically and mentally! Any verbal abuse shouldn’t be tolerated. You can define what “standing-up” means to others who are ijime. I liked to show that I wasn’t a snowflake to their comments. I ignored what they say. Pretended that their comments weren’t worth my time or the JTEs. I did what thought was reasonable. The last thing I wanted to show was weakness. Some helpful phrases are “urusai” (shut up); “jyama shinai de” (don’t disturb others); “shuuchuu shite” (control yourself, concentrate). Typical stuff I heard my teachers say and that I learned myself.
3. Walk-out. Honestly, my friend did this very often in class. If students were bad to him, he didn’t take it and left the classroom. This means that the JTE (Japanese teacher of English) isn’t doing something write to protect you or stop bullying in the class. Doing this says two things: being there isn’t worth your time and the aggravation. If it continues to happen, be real with your JTEs and Tantosha that it’s not worth your time and is taking a toll on your mental health.
4. Request a school change, quit, wait till the students graduate or your contract is up. Changing schools is difficult, but is possible if you believe the situation is serious enough. This is something you would really need to discuss with your BOE. Quitting and leaving your contract is not exactly cool, but sometimes it has to be done. Waiting till they graduate works, but it takes time depending on the grade level that they are in. Finally, leaving your school once your contract is up. Don’t renew and find somewhere else new to work or return home.
5. Be their “friend.” Get to know them and who they are. They might like you and stop. Kids change from one day to the next. Some kids are bullying you for attention. Give them attention and they will give it back. Change up your lesson for them. Make it easier or challenging depending on the case. I made lessons easier and games that helped them participate in class rather than act out. It worked! Kids just want attention and nothing more.

There aren’t a whole lot of solutions to bullying. My advice is to take it one step at a time and work with your teachers to solve the problem. It’s not always the kid’s fault. There are lots of factors; some are just learning disabilities, so children who have a hard time learning, don’t necessarily realize it. Japan’s approach is “teamwork” will solve all problems by having children with different learning abilities jammed into one class. Or, it’s from an unsual upbringing. It’s a rough life for some. The best you can do is to understand them first. Try to anticipate what they might do, how you can resolve the situation, and what your JTEs can do together.