Reinvestigation Report on Death of Bullied Hokkaido Girl Submitted

Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Sept. 1 (Jiji Press)--A committee reinvestigating the death by suicide in 2021 of a schoolgirl in the city of Asahikawa, Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, who had been bullied by other students submitted a final version of its report to the city government on Sunday.

While a summary version of the reinvestigation report was submitted to the municipal government in June, the submission of the final version had been delayed due to the need to take measures to prevent its content from being leaked.

The city plans to release the report within September at the earliest, after holding talks with bereaved relatives on methods of the release and the scope of the report subject to the disclosure.

Members of the reinvestigation committee set up by the city, including its chair, education critic Naoki Ogi, visited the Asahikawa municipal office Sunday and handed the final version to Mayor Hirosuke Imazu.

The girl, Saaya Hirose, 14, a junior high school second grader, was found frozen to death in March 2021.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]