2 Japan teens ordered to pay $5.7K for bumping, injuring elderly woman when 6th graders

OTSU -- Two teens in Japan were ordered to pay 883,041 yen (approx. $5,700) in compensation on July 25 for causing serious injuries to an elderly woman by bumping into her on the grounds of an elementary school in 2019, when they were sixth graders.

The woman in her 80s had sought about 7.25 million yen ($47,100) in damages from the city of Kusatsu in Shiga Prefecture and the two boys, both of whom were then attending the municipal school, for injuries sustained when the boys ran into her on the school field.

Presiding Judge Sosuke Ikeda of the Otsu District Court ordered the two teens to pay compensation for negligence for failing to pay attention to their surroundings.

According to the ruling, in November 2019, the boys were playing tag on the field while school staff were giving instructions for going home in groups after school when they ran into the woman, causing her to fall and break her femur. The woman had come to the school grounds to play "ground golf," a Japanese sport similar to golf with simple rules, as part of club activities.

The presiding judge found the children liable for tortious behavior, saying, "It would have been easy for them to recognize the woman was approaching if they had paid normal attention to their surroundings." On the other hand, the court found that 60% of the compensation sought was offset by the plaintiff's negligence, including that the woman walked through the middle of the school field.

The ruling dismissed the plaintiff's claim against the municipal government, finding that teachers and the principal at the school were not negligent because they were unaware of the woman's path or other circumstances at the time.

(Japanese original by Ririn Iitsuka, Otsu Bureau)