Shoji Sugita
1.The school Educational Law
Article 11:
Principals and teachers are permitted to administer discipline to students if necessary for the purpose of education under the
regulations of the government. However no form of 'corporal punishment' shall be allowed. (Read on for some definitions of
corporal punishment.)
2.The regulation of The School Educational Law
Article 13:
Whenever principals and teachers administer discipline to students they should take into consideration factors such as age and
maturity.
3.Guidelines ruled by The Ministry of Justice
1.To injure the students, including spanking and kicking, is prohibited.
2.To cause serious physical pain to the students is prohibited corporal punishment. However discipline, appropriately
utilized , is not considered corporal punishment. With regard to disciplinary measures, the most important considerations
are the age and maturity of the students, and the place, time and seriousness of the offence.
We should decide using our own discretion whether it is prohibited corporal punishment or not.
3.Detention after school is not considered corporal punishment, but is a legal disciplinary measure. The length of the
detention is at the discretion of the teacher.
4.Not letting students go to the washroom or not letting them eat meals shall be considered corporal punishment.
5.To use force to quell a disturbance in the classroom shall not be considered corporal punishment.
6.Students may be compelled to perform certain services, such as cleaning or extra work for some offences.
4.Guidebook edited by the Meeting for the Study of Instruction, Ministry of Education
As the teachers are in the position of parents or guardians of the students, they shall be permitted to strike a student lightly as
punishment. The reason being that this kind of punishment is usually administered by the parent or the guardian. Teachers shall
be permitted to administer such punishment, even if the force infringes the body of the students.
Such force is considered to be necessary for the proper control students and effective in education, namely what they call
"affectionate rod" or "loving patting".
Of course, teachers should esteem the student's rights with the sound discretion of the school administrators. They should try
to avoid using such force as much as possible, for they may infringe upon the body of the students, even though they are
administering what might be considered an "affectionate rod" or "loving pat"
