Hiroshima school exits Summer Koshien tournament over bullying
An outcry over alleged violence earlier this year within the baseball team of Koryo High School in Hiroshima Prefecture prompted calls on social media for their withdrawal from the tournament, which is played at historic Koshien Stadium near Osaka and better known as Summer Koshien.
"We have decided to pull out, and will swiftly conduct an overhaul of our education method," Masakazu Hori, the principal of the school, told reporters.
It is reportedly the first time that a school has exited mid-tournament over a scandal related to player violence.
Koshien tournament co-organizer, the Japan High School Baseball Federation, on Sunday described the bullying case as "extremely regrettable" and vowed to continue efforts to "eradicate violence, bullying and irrational hierarchical relationships."
Koryo High said on Wednesday that an internal investigation had found a first-year student on the baseball team had been assaulted by four of his senior teammates at their dormitory in January.
The acts of violence included shoving him in the chest and slapping him in the face, with the victim then transferred to another school in March following an apology by his assailants, the school said.
The opening ceremony for the National High School Baseball Championship is held at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Tuesday. |
Jiji
Koryo High reported the assault to the federation, was given a reprimand in March and did not initially publicize the incident.
But emotional social media posts detailing the case went viral earlier this month, triggering an outpouring of anger against the school.
Unsubstantiated information then swirled online about other instances of violence allegedly involving Koryo's baseball team.
Hori, the school principal, warned Sunday that the posts "include pure speculation not based on facts, and slanders against unrelated students.
"Some of our students have been vilified and chased after, on their way to and from school," he said, adding that even a bomb threat had been received.
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