An interesting internet find: the Butterfly Knife As Tool of Knife Rage (from 1998)

[Razoredj]

SCHOOLBOY "KNIFE RAGE":
Violence Among Young Teens Is on the Rise

April 1, 1998

Butterfly knives have become spotlighted as the offending weapon in many of the recent teenage crimes. (Photo: Kyodo)

A spate of violent crimes commmitted by teenagers throughout the country has shocked Japan. In late January, a seventh-grade student fatally stabbed one of his female teachers, a tenth-grader assaulted a female classmate with a knife, and a ninth-grader stabbed a policeman while attempting to steal his handgun--all in the space of one week. In each case the minors involved habitually carried folding knives with them, had no record of delinquency, and appeared to have suddenly lost their self-control. In the light of the seriousness of these crimes, many local governments have initiated a move to designate some folding knives as "harmful toys" and to prohibit their sale to minors.

Jump in Violent Crimes
According to a survey by the Ministry of Education, violence at school became a social problem during the early 1980s, when the reported rate of incidence of violent acts among all middle and high schools was over 10%. The figure fell below 10% during the late 1980s and early 1990s, but it began rising again in 1994. During the 1996 school year (April 1996 to March 1997) there was a 17.7% rate of incidence at Japan's middle schools, which reported 8,169 cases of violence, an increase of 37.2% from the previous year, and a 22.0% rate of incidence at high schools, where there were 2,406 violent incidents, a 15.8% increase.

The recent spate of knife crimes is part of this growing trend of youth violence. Blade-related incidents began rising last year, revealing a shift to more lethal expressions of rage.

Fostering Emotional Growth
In the recent knife attacks, the aggressors seem to have lost their sense of self-restraint, suggesting there is no limit to the injury they can cause others. Many teachers point out that Japanese youths today have fewer outlets to vent their emotions, as ties of friendship have weakened. The educators say that these youths often "snap" when anything slightly harsh is said to them.

The Central Education Council, a consultative organ to the Minister of Education, has been deliberating ways to "foster emotional growth in children starting at the preschool level" ever since a middle school student was charged in July 1997 with the murders of two elementary schoolchildren in Kobe. Spurred by the knife-related incidents, a council subcommittee chairman on February 3 commented on the issue of discipline at home, proposing increased input from both parents on raising children and further efforts to teach children self-restraint.

In order to prevent teenagers' violent crimes from recurring, there is a need to devote serious attention to this issue in schools, at home, and among education authorities.


Trends In Japan, Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.

 

[Blasto]

In the past I've always been very impressed with Japan's low murder rates (possibly a warped view, since I live between Chicago and Milwaukee). I'm just glad to see the aproach that some are taking with the rising violent crimes - Education and parenting. Mind you, this is the view from my little world and may not apply to people and places I haven't been. Knives and other dangerous weapons are kept from children these days without explination or argument. The child picks up a knife and they hear, "No!". They can never understand, first hand, why one should be careful with a knife. The general respect for such a common item HAS to come from experience. I've read articles on the importance of physical learning as a child. From falling down, to scraping knees, to get a general confidence of the world around them. And there is a fine, and very dangerous line between confidence and conceit, especially concerning violent outlet. On top of this, children see the knife as an evil, bad thing. By logic alone, you can see that a child is more likely to use a knife when it's violent image is all they know. Associating blades with a combination of utility and respect can't save a child from "snapping", but he's a lot less likely to use one if it doesn't seem so "dramatic" to him.

My idea... MORE knives. Make them so abundant and public, that they're not "cool" anymore. Take away that shock factor.

 

[Razoredj]

Japan's murder rate isn't nearly as low as is reported. It's common knowledge that Japanese law enforcement officials, in an effort to prevent shame or loss of face, under-report such figures. In particular, certain violent crimes don't appear as "murders" at all. Suicide is high among the Japanese, and instances in which, say, a father loses it and murders his family before killing himself are reported as suicides, not murders.

 

[Bzzzt]

Originally posted by Razoredj

The Central Education Council, a consultative organ to the Minister of Education, has been deliberating ways to "foster emotional growth in children starting at the preschool level" ever since a middle school student was charged in July 1997 with the murders of two elementary schoolchildren in Kobe. Spurred by the knife-related incidents, a council subcommittee chairman on February 3 commented on the issue of discipline at home, proposing increased input from both parents on raising children and further efforts to teach children self-restraint.

In order to prevent teenagers' violent crimes from recurring, there is a need to devote serious attention to this issue in schools, at home, and among education authorities

I am heartened, at least, by the fact that the authorities mentioned see this as an "emotional growth" issue, that the children need to learn to deal with their frustrations in a better way.

I don't like, however, how knives are emphasized.

 

[Nate]

Most of you know I live in a small town in the farmlands of Central NY State. I graduated in the summer of 99. When I was in school, kids had knives, but none were ever used. a fight was a fistfight and then it was over. However, there is a huge influx in my school. a school built for less than a thousand, has now finally had an addition to it to handle 3k and it is already over crowded.
Now, my grandfather used to raise turkeys on his farm. You are probably wondering why this has any relevance (sp). I remember once when we put too many turkeys in one pen. They killed each other. EVERY turkey in that pen was dead the next morning.
If you put ANY species of animal in a contained space for a prolonged ammount of time, and they feel over crowded, they WILL react against each other. My locker was less than a foot wide. My body is more than a foot wide. I had to fight to get into my locker, standing shoulder to shoulder with everyone else, and then run to the other side of the campus in less than 3 minutes. I got pissed quickly, especially in June when its 80* in there.

I can see why kids with short fuses feel pushed. I am NOT advocating violence however and I dont think anyone should carry a weapon in school. no matter what happens, if you use it to protect yourself, you'll get the worse end of the deal.
Nate