Last October, a 13-year old boy in Otsu jumped off the 14th-floor of his apartment building and plunged to his death. His suicide was the result of insufferable bullying at the hands of his classmates. But in weeks we could turn the tide against school bullying in Japan.

The boy suffered daily beatings, was forced to eat dead bees, and was even routinely badgered to “practice suicide”. But sadly, he is not alone. At the heart of the problem lies Japan’s dangerously weak anti-bullying laws, with a solitary rule requiring schools to temporarily suspend bullies. Even this law is widely ignored -- only 43 students nationwide were suspended for bullying in 2009, and a government survey last year found 20% of municipal school boards didn’t even have policies to combat bullying.

Next month, our government plans to use the results of a new survey to create stronger anti-bullying policies. Unless we hold them accountable to their words, the policies will likely remain weak. Together let’s call for strong legislation that requires all schools to set up strict policies to combat bullying and punishes schools that fail to do so. Sign the petition to the right now -- we’ll deliver it straight to the Ministry of Education the day the survey is released.