LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/wires/20010706/tCB00V8603.html

Friday, July 6, 2001
Japan Schools Struggle With Safety

Associated Press Writer

    TOKYO-- Security guards. Tear gas canisters. Self-defense training
for teachers.
    In the month since eight children were stabbed to death in Japan's
bloodiest school massacre, principals across the country have gone on a
security binge.
    But while most agree the June 8 killing spree demonstrated how
vulnerable many of Japan's schools are, some are now wondering if the
reaction has gotten out of hand.
    "What happened in Ikeda could have happened at any school," said
Noriyoshi Mukoyama, the principal of Seishi Elementary, a large public
school in central Tokyo. "I think we have no choice but to err on the side
of caution."
    A week after a 37 -year-old former mental patient carried out the
horrifying assault at Ikeda Elementary, Mukoyama gathered his staff in his
school's tiny gymnasium, where they swapped chalk and textbooks for a
two-pronged pole used by Japanese police to subdue violent suspects.
    PTA representatives watched as teachers and administrators practiced
thrusting and parrying with the 6 -foot aluminum poles, three of which
were offered to the school by local police.
    Children weren't invited. Mukoyama said he was afraid of scaring
them.
    But that's exactly what happened in a small town near Kyoto, when one
principal's determination to give students a safety lesson turned into an
exercise in terror.
    One morning last month, fifth-graders at Kuni Elementary School were
getting ready for class when a man wearing a cap and dark sunglasses burst
into the room brandishing a 20 -inch metal rod.
    Panicked 11 -year-olds stumbled over desks and chairs trying to get
away from the intruder -a teacher in disguise. One girl was so frightened
that she got sick after returning home, and several students were too
scared to be left alone.
    Disturbed parents complained to the local board of education, and
Principal Tokiyo Shimada apologized.
    Most of the safety measures taken by Japanese schools since the
tragedy have been uncontroversial. Gates have been shut at many schools,
security guards have been posted and parents are organizing safety
patrols.
    At Meguro Seibi Elementary School, a private institution in
southwestern Tokyo, teachers have started locking the side gates when
class is in session and requiring visitors to wear badges.
    But Principal Takamitsu Omori said he is trying not to cause students
excessive concern.
    "The last thing we want to do is make children feel unsafe at
school," he said. "We believe it's a matter of raising awareness among
teachers, not running kids through drills."
    Some educators and parents also fear hastily proposed security
measures may in fact be safety hazards.

A Tokyo suburb made headlines when it announced that it wants each of
its 13 elementary schools to keep one tear gas canister on hand in case of
attack.
    "I don't like the idea of tear gas cannisters lying around schools,"
said Masako Takagi, a 36 -year-old mother of four. "Just think what could
happen if kids got hold of one."
    Tokyo has budgeted about $12 million to install alarm systems linking
5,000 private and public schools to metropolitan police.
    Education experts say that's probably money well spent, but emphasize
that there are no quick fixes.
    Osamu Nakamura, professor at Chiba University and author of a book on
crimes involving children, says that Japanese schools should be redesigned
with security in mind.
    Few have been built, for example, to give teachers a view of the
playground from their common room.
    "We just have to keep intruders out," he said. "Fortunately, it's not
like in the United States, where the kids inside are the ones committing
the crime."

Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times

I think that it's good that the Japaneese government puts so much security after just one major incident.  In the U.S., even though there is security, things still happen at schools.

It is too late to close the barn door after the cows have left.