Teacher Threatens To Kill High School Student, Abuses Others…And Doesn’t Get Fired

A pattern of unsettling behavior has surfaced, following a teacher’s outburst at Sagamihara City Junior High School in Japan.

Unrelated photo for illustrative purposes only. | Hiroyoshi Urushima/Unsplash

TV Kanagawa reported that the 31-year-old male teacher threatened a male student in December of 2023. According to the Sagamihara City Board of Education, the teacher uttered, “I’m going to kill you,” after he had grabbed the student by his shoulders and pushed him up against a wall. A colleague intervened after the teacher threw a triangle ruler and shouted, “How many times do I have to say it before you understand?” at the student.

Unrelated photo for illustrative purposes only. | Frank McKenna/Unsplash

This was not, as it turns out, the teacher’s only unprofessional behavior. The education board discovered that multiple complaints had been made about him. The teacher had reportedly been verbally abusive to female students during school club activities. He allegedly berated them for not performing to his standards, to the point where some students did not attend school for days afterward.

Unrelated photo for illustrative purposes only. | Stephanie Hau/Unsplash

In response to the school club complaints, the principal had removed the teacher from his role as club advisor for six months and given the teacher a warning. In November of 2023, just one month after the teacher resumed his school club activities, another verbal abuse incident took place. The teacher’s behavior continued to escalate in December, when he threatened to kill his student.

Despite numerous incidents and complaints, the teacher was not fired after the December incident but rather suspended for three months. The teacher chose to resign instead. The board of education has since reprimanded the principal for poor management of staff and school activities. By not properly disciplining the teacher when the first complaints were made, the principal allowed the teacher’s abusive behavior to continue.