Overview
- A third-year rugby player was strangled from behind after practice, lost consciousness and hit his head on concrete, and later suffered convulsions and a concussion with an estimated two-month recovery.
- The school’s anti-bullying committee judged the December incident a 'serious case' under Japan’s bullying-prevention law and sent its findings to the Ministry of Education and Osaka prefectural authorities.
- The coach reported the episode to school officials on December 31 and received a formal reprimand on January 5 for how the situation was handled.
- The team continued to play at the national Hanazono tournament on January 1 and January 3 while the school investigated, and the school described the event as a sudden individual incident rather than ongoing systemic abuse.
- The school said it will review initial injury-response procedures, boost safety education for students and staff and consider stronger on-campus monitoring as part of its pledged prevention measures.