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Memorial held for victims of school stabbing 24 years ago
A memorial service was held Sunday for the victims of the knife attack that happened at an elementary school in Osaka Prefecture, 24 years ago.
The ceremony was held at Ikeda Elementary School, which is affiliated with Osaka Kyoiku University. Participants, including bereaved relatives, school staff and students, offered silent prayers at 10:12 a.m., the time when the incident occurred on June 8, 2001.
They then rang a bell installed at a monument inscribed with the names of the children who lost their lives in the attack.
On that day in 2001, a 37-year-old man broke into the school with a knife, killing eight students and injuring 15 others — 13 students and two teachers. The attacker, Mamoru Takuma, was executed in September 2004.
Shinichi Arakawa, 51, principal of the school, told the ceremony, "The school did not assume (at the time) that a suspicious person would break into its premises."
"We are determined to take thorough safety measures in order to ensure that such an incident will never happen again," he added.
During the address, one student said, "I think our mission is to pass on the story of that day to the next generation through any way we can so that it will not be forgotten."
Following the incident at Ikeda Elementary School, former police officers have been playing key roles in protecting schoolchildren from crimes across the country.
While some schools are deploying security guards, there are cases in which former police officers are recruited by local governments to safeguard students.
In 2002, the education ministry created risk control manuals in the event of suspicious figures intruding into school premises.
Ikeda Elementary School installed infrared alarms on the fences around its facilities while limiting visitor entrance to its main gate. Security guards were also deployed.
But implementing all these measures at every school is a challenge.
Over 60% of schools across Japan have introduced surveillance cameras and intercoms, and the proportion of schools having a communication system with security service companies also topped 60%, according to a survey conducted by the ministry in fiscal 2023.
On the other hand, only 8% of schools have deployed security guards.
In the city of Osaka in May this year, there was an attempted murder case in which an SUV driven by a man hit seven children in front of an elementary school. The school had no security guards.
The suspect was captured by a former officer of the Osaka prefectural police department who has been hired by the Osaka city government to do support work for schoolchildren, such as watching them over while on school premises and on their way to and from school.
In another case in Osaka city, another former Osaka prefectural police officer that had been recruited for a similar role responded to an intruder at a school property last year, according to the city's board of education. No one was injured in the incident.
The city government started hiring such support staff on a trial basis in fiscal 2013. Such recruitment has increased gradually, following requests from schools.
During the present school year which began in April, there have been 68 security support staff dispatched to local schools. About two thirds of them are former police officers.
Separately, the education ministry is advising schools to name former police officers with expertise in crime prevention to serve as "school guard leaders," who are commissioned with roles such as patrolling school premises and providing guidance on security measures. The ministry pays subsidies for the initiative.
"By further boosting our efforts to watch over children, we hope to ensure safety at schools and on school routes," an official of the ministry said.
