A student in a public high school in the middle part of the island was suspended from school for five days for slandering a teacher on Twitter.

School officials explained they decided to suspend the student, because that student had slandered the teacher in a way that anyone could identify the person, and has not understood enough about information morals.

The student and his or her parents have protested the decision claiming “the suspension is too heavy,” although they have admitted the fact that the student did it, and agree that it was not good to make comments in a way the individual could be identified.

According to persons familiar with the matter, when a dozen teachers had a party at a pub, a student from another school and who works in the pub part time posted some negative comments about the teachers in the party, such as ‘clapping hands loudly’ and them being ‘so annoying’ on Twitter.  In response to these posts, the punished student posted comments, such as ‘one of them is my high school club teacher’ and ‘I hate this teacher’.

School officials have explained that students are able to come to a room in the school and learn how to use the Internet.  Parents interviewed by the Okinawa Times newspaper said, “The decision is one-sided. We wanted the school teachers and students to talk each other before making the decision.”

• 
• NO DATA