It's a scary, sick world. Today I heard that a little first grade boy on his way to school was attacked for no reason. A man drove up, threw a bottle of gasoline at the boy and lit him on fire. The boy is still alive but barely hanging on. That in itself is enough to send shivers down my spine but to top it off, it happened right outside of one of my best student's apartment buildings. She is a second grader and was probably on her way to school at the same time but was lucky enough to leave a little earlier.

At the risk of sounding like a cold-hearted witch, I knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. I've been meaning to comment on this issue for a while and what better time than now?

Everyone seems to think that Japan is such a safe place. I admit, when I first came to Japan I felt the same way but after being robbed once and having at least 3 acquaintances fall victim to hit-and-run accidents (one of which was fatal), I've changed my mind. It never ceases to amaze and horrify me how parents send their kindergarteners off to school or the store alone. If Fukuoka were a small town, that'd be one thing but it's not-it's one of the biggest cities in Japan. It's not uncommon to see 4-5 year-olds hanging out, apparently unsupervised, at the local 7-11.

In addition to the danger of wackos, there are also the basic dangers of city life such as traffic. The other day I saw a little boy riding his bike on a super-busy street that I won't even ride on. The boy and his bike together were smaller than my front tire so I can't imagine that the drivers of the cars could see him.

Maybe my perseptions of what is reasonable or safe for kids is too strict. I mean, I wasn't allowed to cross my street by myself until I was ten and I lived in a pretty safe neighborhood that averaged about 20 cars per day. Ok, I guess that's enough of my ranting. I mean, who am I to judge anyone's parenting skills?