Twitter video shows middle school boy assaulting girl

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation after the emergence of a video online that shows a middle school boy repeatedly beating a girl in Edogawa Ward in May, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Sept. 5).

In the 85-second-long clip, which was posted to Twitter, the boy, 13, punches and slaps the girl, 14, in the face while she is on the ground of the riverbed of the Shinnakagawa River.

After she gets up, he drags her back to the ground and repeatedly assaults her with his knees and kicks her.

The pair then move under a bridge. There, the youth chokes the girl around the neck. He then runs at her and kicks her in the chest.

The girl and boy are both second-year middle school students in Katsushika and Edogawa wards, respectively. They are believed to be acquaintances, the Katsushika Police Station said.

After the incident, the girl consulted with police. Officers are now interviewing persons involved in the case, which is being treated as assault.