Hokkaido City Reaches Settlement over Bullied Girl’s Death

Asahikawa, Hokkaido, March 26 (Jiji Press)–The city government of Asahikawa, Hokkaido, agreed Thursday to pay 70 million yen to settle the high-profile case of a 14-year-old girl who was found dead from hypothermia in March 2021 after being bullied. The settlement was reached at Asahikawa District Court in the northern Japan prefecture. The family of the victim, Saaya Hirose, had sought about 115 million yen in damages, claiming the city failed to respond appropriately. “We express our deepest sympathy for Saaya Hirose and apologize to the bereaved family,” Asahikawa Mayor Hirosuke Imazu said at a press conference the same day. Hirose’s mother released a statement through her attorney, saying, “Going forward, I will stand by victimized children, and I strongly hope that no one will ever experience what my daughter did.” Initially, the city government concluded that the situation had not reached the level of bullying based on a school interview survey. However, a subsequent investigation by a third-party committee found that six actions, including requests for sexual videos, constituted bullying. The city then established a reinvestigation committee, which in June 2024 compiled a report indicating that bullying was likely the main cause of Hirose’s suicide. In the complaint, the bereaved family alleged that, despite being aware of the bullying, the school and the city’s board of education downplayed the situation as a family issue or a matter of developmental characteristics and left it unaddressed. They claimed that the failure to take action constituted a violation of the city’s duty to ensure her safety. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]