A junior high teacher who beat a student for comparing him to an anime character was given a 10% pay cut for 3 months: Japan officials

• A junior high teacher had his pay temporarily cut by 10% after beating a student, per Osaka officials.
• The teacher was upset that the student had compared him to an anime character, per Sankei Shimbun.

A junior high teacher in Osaka, Japan, had three months of pay docked by 10% for physically assaulting a student, school officials said.

The 38-year-old teacher from Kawachinagano Municipal Junior High School was punished for two altercations, the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education said on Monday.

In May 2023, the unnamed teacher squeezed the student's head with both arms, and in January 2024 shoved the same student to the ground, trapped him in a headlock, and punched him at least twice on the left side of his head, the board said.

The teacher's direct supervisor, the school principal, was also given a strict warning, the board added.

The board does not name punished teachers, and regularly disciplines faculty with a 10% salary reduction for misconduct, such as inappropriate physical contact with students or taking a public transport commuting allowance when they drive a car to work.

School officials said the teacher at Kawachinagano grew upset with the student, who was in his third year of junior high because the latter and his schoolmates repeatedly made fun of the teacher's physique, the national daily Sankei Shimbun reported.

Third-year students in junior high are typically about 14 years old.

During school recess in January, the student compared the teacher to an anime character of a similar body shape, and at least twice called him by the name of the fictional character, per Sankei Shimbun.

That was when the teacher engaged the student in a headlock and punched him, school officials said, per the outlet.

School officials said the teacher apologized to the student and his family, per Sankei Shimbun. "I couldn't control my anger," the teacher said.

The student suffered minor bruises, and the teacher was reported by other students witnessing the altercation, Sankei Shimbun reported, citing school officials.

The recommended salary for junior high teachers aged 35 to 45 is $2,500 to $3,000, per the Osaka prefectural board of education.

Other Osaka faculty who recently received a temporary 10% pay cut include a high school teacher who went out four times with a female student and a junior high teacher who touched a female student's head and hands while in a car, the education board said.

Another was a lecturer who illegally parked twice near his school while receiving a public transport allowance.