Photo/Illutration Matsubara nursery school in Tagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Oct. 20 (Seiji Iwata)

TAGAWA, Fukuoka Prefecture--Teachers at a private nursery school here abused children in their care by hitting, force-feeding and screaming at them.

Prefectural authorities uncovered 28 cases of physical or psychological abuse at Matsubara nursery school involving 10 female teachers between their 20s and 60s.

In one case, a child who threw up after being abused was harshly scolded.

In issuing an improvement recommendation based on the Child Welfare Law to Matsubara Fukushi Kai (Matsubara welfare association), which operates the nursery school, prefectural authorities called on it to formally admit to the abuse and propose measures to prevent a recurrence.

Officials on Oct. 20 cited 14 cases of physical abuse, four of psychological abuse, four of neglect and six of inappropriate childcare. Two of the 10 teachers were dismissed as a disciplinary measure after the abuse came to light in August. 

None of the children suffered serious injuries.

ABUSE TOLERATED

Most of the incidents occurred during lunch or snack time.

Some teachers forced food into mouths of children who were slow to eat, even when the kids tried to resist. One teacher was found to have intimidated a child who spilled food. When the child began crying, she pulled the child’s arm, causing the youngster to fall to the floor.

During sports festival practice and at lunch time, children who did not follow instructions were repeatedly hit, slapped, had their cheeks pinched or clothes pulled forcefully.

In cases of psychological abuse, multiple teachers shouted at the children. “Are you stupid?” they would repeatedly demand.

The teachers also resorted to force-feeding practices. Teachers were in the habit of giving the banana they were eating to a child nearby. They would also use the same tongs to force-feed multiple children. 

Although the abuse was recognized among the staff members, it was left unaddressed. The principal of the school claimed not to have been aware of what was happening during an interview with prefectural officials.

“There was no system functioning to monitor childcare at the facility. It appears there was a culture of tolerating abuse,” said a prefectural official who conducted a special audit.

A mother in her 30s whose daughter attends the nursery school expressed shock that so many teachers were involved and continued working even after the abuse was discovered and their colleagues were dismissed in August.

Another mother in her 30s, whose child attends the nursery, said she had no other childcare options. She continued sending her child because the youngster didn’t seem reluctant to attend.

“It’s dangerous to force food into a child’s mouth. That’s not something a person can normally do. Maybe the routine of taking care of so many children led to such behavior,” she said.

Harumi Takase, the operating company’s chairperson, said in an interview: “I deeply apologize to the children, parents and everyone involved. I still don’t understand why this happened, but I believe it was due to my lack of leadership.”

As the person ultimately responsible for the incidents, Takase pledged to “take appropriate steps to implement preventive and corrective measures to ensure this never happens again.”

(This article was written by Yuta Torio, Seiji Iwata and Shinsuke Nishida.)

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