Who Tolerates the Use of Physical Punishment?

In the end of December 2012, a male senior high school student killed himself after he suffered from frequent use of physical punishment by an adviser teacher of his basketball team.  Since then, a large number of serious cases caused by violent ways of controlling have been reported in Japan.  Before that incident, although the Fundamental Law of School Education prohibits physical punishment, public opinion generally tended to tolerate the use of physical punishment by parents in Japan.  Many people think that hitting a child as a way of parenting is unavoidable in some cases. According to JGSS-2008 data, more than 60% of respondents approve the use of physical punishment by parents.  Physical punishment by teachers was also more or less permitted in JGSS-2000/2001.  It is now necessary for us to understand social and cultural backgrounds of tolerating physical punishment in Japanese society.  This paper explores the factors of approving the use of physical punishment among Japanese adults.  The results of analysis show that gender and the experience of being a subject of violence in childhood are strongly related to the attitude toward approving physical punishment.  Young people who suffered violence in childhood are likely to support the use of physical punishment by parents.  In addition, women whose father was perceived to ignore her in childhood are likely to support the physical punishment.  The results imply that physical punishment possesses ritualistic elements among Japanese people by symbolizing intimate relationships.  It is also suggested that new types of ritualistic behavior in intimate relations should be created in order to prevent serious problems by physical punishment.