Nursery School Head Apologizes For Death Of 3 - Year - Old Girl Left Behind In Bus
The head of a nursery school in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, has apologized for the death of a 3-year-old girl who was left behind inside a school bus.
Kawamoto China died from heatstroke after being left for about five hours inside the bus at Kawasaki Kindergarten in the city of Makinohara on Monday.
Principal Masuda Tatsuyoshi and vice principal Sugimoto Tomoko held a news conference on Wednesday after holding a briefing session with parents and guardians earlier in the day.
The principal extended his apologies to the girl's family, and indicated he will step down as the head of the school as soon as his successor is determined.
The principal drove the bus on the day of the incident as the regular driver suddenly took a day off. He acknowledged that he failed to make sure all children got off the bus as he was unfamiliar with the job.
The vice principal explained that there were no rules in place that require more than one staff member to check whether any children are left behind in the bus.
She also said China's classroom teacher thought the girl was not in the room because she was absent for some reason, and did not confirm it with her parents or other teachers.
In July last year, a 5-year-old boy died from heatstroke in the southwestern prefecture of Fukuoka after he was left behind in a nursery school bus.
Following the incident, the government called on childcare facilities to check the number of children in the bus. But the nursery school in Shizuoka Prefecture says it did not revise its safety manual.