Corporal punishment has long been a tradition in the Japanese school sports scene, just as it has in Japanese society as a whole.

As it has come to be considered a problem, the number of cases have seemingly been on the decline. But at the same time, there is still a long way to go before corporal punishment is eliminated from the country.

In 2012, a boy¡¯s basketball team player at Osaka¡¯s Sakuranomiya High School killed himself after repeatedly being targeted for physical punishment by the team¡¯s head coach because he was the team captain. That case was reported on extensively and recognized as something the nation cannot overlook.