Japan's minister gets student's letter threatening suicide

Tokyo: Japan's education minister has received a letter apparently written by a student threatening to commit suicide because he was being bullied, prompting an appeal to local officials to track down the troubled boy.

A series of suicides by students due to bullying has gripped public attention in recent weeks, just as debate heats up on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's proposed reform of the education system - a key plank in his conservative policy agenda.

"This is a matter of life or death, so the education ministry will deal with it swiftly," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news conference yesterday. "We want him to treat as precious the life received from his parents and ancestors."

In the letter, which Japanese media said appeared to be from a male elementary or junior high school student, the author said appeals to teachers and parents for help had gone unheard. "I am writing this letter because living is painful," said the letter whose text Japanese newspapers carried.