Hayato Fukuura’s mother, Saori, and father, Daisuke, are the bereaved family of Hayato Fukuura. All this time, there was something they couldn’t understand.

“How come the Nagasaki Shimbun and Kyodo News do not protest Bungeishunju but only target reporter Ishikawa?”

This is because Bungeishunju is the publishing house of the book “The Sanctuary of Bullying,” which criticizes the reporting attitude of the Nagasaki Shimbun regarding Hayato’s suicide case.

The bereaved family asks this question at the end of their nine-page written opinion to the Kyodo News examination committee.

Daisuke Fukuura (left) and Saori Fukuura. At Hayato Fukuura’s sixth anniversary of a death. (Photo by Nanami Nakagawa on April 20, 2023)

“No other children should suffer like my son did”

Saori was writing in her living room on the morning of December 31, 2022. She had written nearly 8,000 words at the time. Before she knew it, the new year had arrived, and it was getting brighter outside the window.

Until that point, she had explained that the content of Chapter 11 of the book, “Adults Who Want To Escape Responsibility,” is based on facts, providing evidence for each item.

There were three final things that Saori wanted to write down in her opinion letter.

The first is that the examination committee suspects that the chapter “has not been sufficiently corroborated and that there is a logical gap beyond the scope of the criticism.”

All of the information is factual and based on objective facts such as interviews and newspaper articles. Moreover, Ishikawa and we, as with each chapter, double-checked the recording data and reviewed the correct arguments and detailed expressions. The bereaved family is disappointed at your remark that evidence is insufficient.

 

I believe that a valid commentary is one that is supported by evidence. Even before reporter Ishikawa started writing the book, we had numerous conversations. This is because I do not want another child to suffer in the same way that my son did. Furthermore, I wanted the public to understand that the bereaved family is not only grieving the death of their kid, but they are also experiencing double grief as a result of the school’s and government’s unjustifiable responses.

“Bullying” chooses the weaker one

Saori and Daisuke have had the second question for some time.

This book is published by Bungeishunju, and we don’t understand why the Nagasaki Shimbun is asking your company to take recovery measures.

 

Furthermore, I do not understand why your company set up an examination committee after the protest by the Nagasaki Shimbun. Normally, the Nagasaki Shimbun should have protested against the publisher, but could you please tell us the real reason for accepting the protest as is and even setting up an examination committee?

As Saori pointed out, the book was published by Bungeishunju. Kyodo News is a third party and has no authority over publication. Despite this, the Nagasaki Shimbun protested to Kyodo News.

Saori and Daisuke cannot forgive the Nagasaki Shimbun and Kyodo News for avoiding those greater than themselves and instead choosing people who are in a weaker position. The Nagasaki Shimbun protested not to Bungeishunju, a large publishing corporation, but to Kyodo News, an affiliated company with a strong presence. Kyodo News completely accepted the claims of its member company, Nagasaki Shimbun, which is its “customer,” on the other hand, targeted its employee Yoichi Ishikawa.

Saori says, “If the Nagasaki Shimbun and Kyodo News think there’s a problem with the book, they should just protest against Bungeishunju openly. Isn’t this ‘bullying’ targeting Mr. Ishikawa?”

“The book is the true cry of us, the bereaved family.”

The opinion letter, which was nearly 10,000 words long, ended with a thank you to Ishikawa.

The book is the truth of what we have experienced. I believe that because it was factual, it caught the attention of Bungeishunju and they decided to publish it. This book is a testament to our family’s life.

 

Finally, it has been more than five years since we lost our child. We, the bereaved family, have endured a slew of difficulties in the hope that no other children should suffer like my son did. Without a doubt, your company’s article and reporter, Ishikawa, heard our voices, stood by us, and informed society of the truth.

 

The articles that reporter Ishikawa has distributed and the book he has published are also the true cry of us, the bereaved family.

 

I would like to request that the examination committee listen to the opinions of our bereaved families.

 

Concluded.

How will the Kyodo News examination committee respond to the voice of the bereaved family?

To be continued.

(Originally published in Japanese on June 19, 2023. Translation by Mana Shibata.)

Adults in the Student Suicide Case: All articles