Japan's classroom attack probed

Students take refuge in the gymnasium of Hikari High School in western Japan on Friday, after a student threw an explosive into a classroom, injuring 53 people. PHOTO: AP

Prosecutors custody yesterday of an 18-year-old student suspected of bombing a southern Japan classroom, police said, in a case that has fueled concerns about a rising trend in Internet-linked violence among youth.

Police the student on Friday, accusing him of throwing a homemade bomb into a classroom at a high school in Hikari city. The gunpowder-filled jar exploded, spraying the room with glass shards and nails and wounding 58 students.

The suspect was transferred to the custody of Yamaguchi prefectural (state) public prosecutors yesterday on charges of assault, police official Akira Nakanishi said.

Weekend reports said the boy told police he followed instructions on the Internet to build the bomb and that he planned the attack because his "pride had been hurt" repeatedly by another student. The school was investigating reports that he had been bullied by his peers for many years.

Investigators a second explosive device and manuals on making bombs from his home -- evidence that will be examined by prosecutors to determine whether he should be charged with attempted murder, TV Asahi and Kyodo News reported.

Police the boy fashioned the bomb from a glass bottle filled with gunpowder and other substances, but have refused to confirm further details because the investigation was still underway.

Media citing police sources, said the boy stuffed the bottle with several dozen nails and gunpowder stripped from firecrackers, and attached a crude fuse, using instructions from a Web site.

TBS News said a model gun was found near the suspect after he allegedly fled the scene. Model guns are designed and operate just like real guns but do not fire forward projectiles. Converting them to working weapons is usually difficult.

It was the latest in a series of high-profile attacks in Japanese schools, raising concerns that the country's schools are not immune to the violence seen in European and American institutions and prompting questions about whether adults should monitor their children's Web use.

Last year, an 11-year-old girl murdered her sixth-grade classmate with a box cutter after a spat over the Internet. Local media have reported on several recent incidents of teens using the Web to make bombs, but none that has caused injuries.

"The Internet has made it relatively easy to access this kind of information," said Akio Kokubu, vice president of the Internet Association of Japan. But he said restricting Web access will not solve the problem.

"How do we tackle this problem? That is a problem that children, their parents and society as a whole must face up to and think about," he said.

Most of the injuries in Friday's attack were minor, although one male student suffered serious cuts to his legs and abdomen and another student suffered a broken finger. Seventeen were hospitalized.

School and news reports described the boy as quiet, courteous and a conscientious student who never skipped class and had an "above average" academic record.

His name has been withheld because he is a minor under Japanese law.

But they also described a loner who was extremely withdrawn and was often bullied.

Though crime is relatively rare in Japan, juvenile delinquency is has been on the rise, according to police statistics.

In 2002, the government lowered the age at which juveniles can be prosecuted as criminals to 14 from 16.