The Gunma Prefectural Board of Education has created a "crisis intervention manual" that summarizes how to deal with students who are at high risk of suicide.Assistant Professor Heiwakichi Fuji of the Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine was also involved in the creation of the book, which explains in detail everything from the early detection of the danger signs of suicide to the response the school should take in the event of an attempted suicide.
According to Gunma University, the manual consists of four chapters and a special edition.Chapter 4 is about suicide prevention.The necessary measures are summarized as three stages of suicide prevention in schools: prevention, crisis intervention, and post-incident response.
Chapter 2 is about early detection and explains how to recognize the signs of suicide risk in students.Chapter 3 is the initial correspondence.It introduces how to deal with students who are at increased risk of suicide.Chapter 4 summarizes what is necessary to continue support according to the situation.The special edition introduces the response of the school when a suicide attempt occurs.
In 2019, the Gunma Prefectural Board of Education set up a suicide prevention review committee consisting of experts and formulated a manual after a second-year female student at a prefectural high school committed suicide after suffering from bullying.The manual will be sent as PDF data to public high schools, secondary schools, and prefectural special needs schools in Gunma Prefecture.
