Rich kids from elite schools on rampage

Rich kids from elite schools on rampage

By GEOFF BOTTING
Shukan Bunshun (Sept. 12)

Back in January, police in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward were called out to investigate an apparently routine crime.
Tokyo Confidential surveys popular vernacular magazines -- often "salacious, libelous and utterly unreliable" -- to discover what the Japanese are "really thinking."

A high-school girl, the cops learned, had lured a salaryman into a park with the promise of sex. But the man had quickly found himself surrounded by a group of aggressive teenage boys, who took a photo of his face and stole his employer ID. The youths threatened to report the man to his employer unless they were paid off.

This brand of extortion, in which youngsters threaten and even beat older victims, involved oyaji-gari (middle-aged man hunting), a crime that has become all too common in recent years. But what made the Shinjuku shakedown noteworthy were the perpetrators: the dozen-odd boys involved were all students at the prestigious Gakushuin Boys' Senior High School, says Shukan Bunshun.

The school is one of seven private Gakushuin educational institutions that range from kindergarten all the way to a university. These are where the Imperial Family traditionally sends its children to be educated.

Yet as the shakedown in Shinjuku illustrates, a number of Gakushuin students have been deeply involved in some alarming incidents in recent years.

The perpetrators in the park have since been caught. They told police they had targeted dozens of salarymen, shaking them down for hundreds of thousands of yen.

So why would a group of rich kids resort to threatening strangers?

The answer lies in an incident early last November that occurred in the aftermath of a karaoke outing attended by Gakushuin boys and girls from other schools. Four of the boys apparently had sex with one of the girls. Whether it was rape is not known.

Whatever the case, the girl enlisted a group of bosozoku (hot-rodders) to beat up the boys. The boys were also told to come up with a million yen within a week.

Desperate for a way to raise the cash, they took the advice of a couple of classmates who had been making a killing by selling the used panties of some of their young female friends.

The exchanges took place on an Internet site for mobile phone users. Eventually, one of the youngsters figured out the site would be perfect to get in touch with potential extortion targets in the form of salarymen. The shakedown plan was thus hatched.

This wasn't the first time that Gakushuin students have been implicated in serious wrongdoing.

Eight years ago, a group of students at the boys' high school were involved in the kind of extortion scheme you would expect of the yakuza, the magazine says. The students had been forcing classmates to buy tickets for a party that never existed.

"They were all very aggressive," says an unnamed person described as being involved in the case. "Three of the students used violence and threats."

More recently, theft has become endemic at the Gakushuin Girl's Junior High School, with numerous students reporting that their wallets have been stolen while at school.

"A teacher told us to make sure [our daughters] don't bring any more money than necessary to school," says the mother of one student. "The entire junior school's second grade was assembled to hear a talk from someone from the police's crime prevention department. That's pretty scary."

Currently, seven members of the Imperial Family, all girls, study at the Gakushuin institutions from primary school to university level. Also in line to attend is Princess Aiko, born last December. The baby girl could become heir to the throne should the law be revised to allow Japan's first empress of modern times.

However, Shukan Bunshun believes that unless the Gakushuin schools eliminate the bad seeds among their students, the Imperial Family should start looking elsewhere when it comes to the education of their children.

[Senjojutsu]

Regarding these out of control males at an elite Japanese school...

Do any of them happen to go by the family name “Kennedy” by any chance?

No, but I bet the name "Bush" came up a lot.


Mark

Originally posted by MarkF
No, but I bet the name "Bush" came up a lot.


Mark

[Senjojutsu]

Let's not forget the name "Gore" - or any other high profile Democrat - who will take the teacher unions' support and money; but "public schools" are for other people's children - not theirs.