TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese boy burned down his home, killing his stepmother and two younger siblings, for fear his parents would find out he had lied about his score on an English test.
The 16-year-old, whose name has not been released, is thought to have set fire to the house in Nara, western Japan, and left his stepmother to die along with his 7-year-old brother and 5-year-old sister, domestic media reports said on Saturday.
The boy's parents had been due to attend a meeting with teachers about his exam results that same day, reports said. The teen-ager told police his father, a doctor, had put him under extreme pressure over his academic performance, Kyodo news agency said.
While I do not symphatize with the child for what he has done, I feel for the general population of Japan. Testing over there is a big deal and to see this sort of thing happen as a result saddens me. Stress causes us to do crazy things. But who knows, who is to say his parents would not have killed him over the grade? Nah, I'm not justifying this at all. It is deeply wrong.
