Japan Govt to Collect Info on Safety of Walls at Schools

June 20, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese government will begin collecting information on the safety of school walls across the country, following the death of an elementary school girl after a wall collapsed on her, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday.

The nine-year-old girl died after being trapped under a wall that collapsed onto a sidewalk next to an elementary school swimming pool in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, due to a strong earthquake that hit the region on Monday.

The central government will work with local municipalities and other institutions to arrange wall safety inspections at elementary and junior high schools and the course of action to be taken based on the outcome of the checks, Suga, Japan's top government spokesman, told a press conference.

As for cases in which walls need to be removed or repaired by schools for safety reasons, the central government will decide how it should respond after checking related facts, possibly assisting such schools with state subsidies, Suga said. Jiji Press