Teacher Who Closed Gate, Killing Tardy Student, to Be Fired
A teacher who accidentally killed a tardy student by closing the school gate as the girl tried to squeeze through will be fired, education authorities decided today.
They also agreed to discipline five other education officials in connection with the case, which caused a public uproar over the rigidity in many Japanese schools.
On July 6, Toshihiko Hosoi closed the front gate of Hyogo Prefectural Takatsuka Senior High School in Kobe, 270 miles west of Tokyo, promptly at 8:30 a.m. in an effort to teach students a lesson about coming to school on time.
Ryoko Ishida, 15, was caught in the heavy metal gate and died of a crushed skull.
The school had a policy of closing the gate at 8:30 each morning. Published accounts of the incident differ, but most say the teacher closed the gate suddenly to teach the students a lesson about being late.
The high school principal also resigned under pressure today.
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