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家庭での問題
神戸市の小学生連続殺傷事件で、容疑者の少年が通っていた中学校の責任を問う報道が続いている。しかし、少年が学校よりも長い時間を過ごしたはずの家庭こそ問題なのではないか、と筆者は考える。
It All Starts At Home
By SCOTT T. HARDS
The horrifying murder of 11-year-old Jun Hase, and the arrest and confession of a 15-year-old in the case has understandably kept all of Japan talking for the last several weeks. Tabloid-style television "wide" shows and sports newspapers in particular have been very busy, but even the mainstream mass media have spent considerable time reporting on the topic.
Since the arrest, the main focus seems to have been: How could our society have created such a monster? Weekend TV debate shows have brought out endless numbers of criminal psychologists who tell us that the boy who killed Jun was "lonely" or "looking for attention" or that he had "given up on school." In particular, the principal of the junior high school the suspect attended has been a target. In one scene I saw, reporters angrily shouted questions at him, one asking, "Isn't the school responsible for this?"
What disturbs me about all of this is the fact that none of these experts or reporters seems to have the courage to address the most obvious cause of the crime: a poor upbringing. If you really want to know how it was possible for such a young person to be responsible for something so terrible, you need look no further than his home. It is this boy's parents, not his school, who really need to do some serious soul-searching.
After all, though a bad atmosphere at his school may certainly have contributed to making him what he is today, the few dozen hours that his junior high school teachers have spent with him pale next to the thousands and thousands of hours that he must have spent at home with his parents.
Or has he? In many Japanese homes, the father is barely a presence to be felt at all, working long hours and coming home late to children who are already asleep. Meanwhile, mom is barely interested in her son as long as he doesn't disturb her, content if he is in his bedroom, apparently studying.
Of course, I don't know for sure that this boy's home is like this, but the chances are good. After all, he was able to own and watch dozens of grisly horror videos in his room and even able to bring part of Jun's body into his home without his mother and father knowing it ― not signs of particularly watchful parents.
Perhaps the Japanese media don't talk about his family and parents because they believe those people are also somehow victims of this terrible tragedy. They may very well be, but if we're ever to understand and thus help prevent a repeat of this horror, they deserve our scrutiny as painful as it may be.
The horrifying murder of 11-year-old Jun Hase, and the arrest and confession of a 15-year-old in the case has understandably kept all of Japan talking for the last several weeks. Tabloid-style television "wide" shows and sports newspapers in particular have been very busy, but even the mainstream mass media have spent considerable time reporting on the topic.
Since the arrest, the main focus seems to have been: How could our society have created such a monster? Weekend TV debate shows have brought out endless numbers of criminal psychologists who tell us that the boy who killed Jun was "lonely" or "looking for attention" or that he had "given up on school." In particular, the principal of the junior high school the suspect attended has been a target. In one scene I saw, reporters angrily shouted questions at him, one asking, "Isn't the school responsible for this?"
What disturbs me about all of this is the fact that none of these experts or reporters seems to have the courage to address the most obvious cause of the crime: a poor upbringing. If you really want to know how it was possible for such a young person to be responsible for something so terrible, you need look no further than his home. It is this boy's parents, not his school, who really need to do some serious soul-searching.
After all, though a bad atmosphere at his school may certainly have contributed to making him what he is today, the few dozen hours that his junior high school teachers have spent with him pale next to the thousands and thousands of hours that he must have spent at home with his parents.
Or has he? In many Japanese homes, the father is barely a presence to be felt at all, working long hours and coming home late to children who are already asleep. Meanwhile, mom is barely interested in her son as long as he doesn't disturb her, content if he is in his bedroom, apparently studying.
Of course, I don't know for sure that this boy's home is like this, but the chances are good. After all, he was able to own and watch dozens of grisly horror videos in his room and even able to bring part of Jun's body into his home without his mother and father knowing it ― not signs of particularly watchful parents.
Perhaps the Japanese media don't talk about his family and parents because they believe those people are also somehow victims of this terrible tragedy. They may very well be, but if we're ever to understand and thus help prevent a repeat of this horror, they deserve our scrutiny as painful as it may be.
Shukan ST: Aug. 1, 1997
(C) All rights reserved
- horrifying murder
- 恐ろしい殺人
- confession
- 供述
- understandably
- 当然ながら
- (has)kept 〜 talking
- 〜 の話題となった
- Tabloid-style
- タブロイド紙のように煽情的な
- mainstream mass media
- 主流の(新聞・雑誌・テレビ番組などの)マスコミ
- considerable
- かなりの
- monster
- 極悪非道な人
- debate shows
- 討論番組
- have brought out
- 出演させた
- criminal psychologists
- 犯罪心理学者
- had"given up on school"
- 学校に見切りをつけていた
- principal
- 校長
- suspect
- 容疑者
- What disturbs me about all of this is the fact that 〜
- これらの報道で気になるのは 〜 という点だ
- experts
- 専門家
- address the most obvious cause
- 最も明らかな原因を取り上げる
- poor upbringing
- 家庭でのおろそかな教育
- need look no further than 〜
- 〜 を見るだけでよい
- soul-searching
- 自己分析
- After all
- やはり
- atmosphere
- 状況
- may certainly have contributed to making him what he is today
- 確かに、現在の彼の人間形成に影響を及ぼしたかもしれない
- pale next to 〜
- 〜 に比べれば色あせてしまう
- Or has he?
- それとも、彼はそれほど長く両親と一緒に過ごしていただろうか?
- barely a presence to be felt at all
- 存在感がほとんどない
- disturb
- 邪魔をする
- content
- 満足している
- apparently
- 見たところ 〜 らしい
- chances are good
- そういう可能性も高い
- grisly
- ぞっとするような
- not signs of 〜
- 〜 のようすを表すものではない
- particularly watchful
- 特に注意深い
- victims
- 被害者
- terrible tragedy
- つらい悲劇
- They may very well be
- おそらくそうだろう
- if we're to ever 〜
- もし 〜 することがあるのなら
- help prevent 〜
- 〜 を防ぐ助けになる
- deserve our scrutiny
- われわれのせんさくを受けて当然だ
- as painful as it may be
- どんなにつらいことだとしても