Bullying takes various forms,and not all of them are covered by criminal justice procedure.In reality,the very nature of bullying makes it difficult for authorities to grasp the actual situations.
  A total of21,671incidents of bullying(down by7.2%from the previous year)occurred in public elementary,junior high,senior high,and special education schools in FY2004.Of the aggregate total of incidents,teasing and taunting had the largest share at10,207cases,followed by verbal threats at5,551cases,assaults at4,613cases,and exclusions from groups at4,265cases(Source:The Community Safety Bureau,National Police Agency).
  Reported delinquency cases related to bullying have been on a decline after peaking in1985at638cases involving1,950juveniles.However,in2004,there were161cases(up by51.9%from the previous year)involving316juveniles(up by38.0%(id.)).Of the161cases,141cases were committed as bullying and the remaining20were cases where victims of bullying committed offenses for revenges(Source:The Community Safety Bureau,National Police Agency).
  In1994,the Ministry of Justice launched the system of Civil Liberties Commissioners for the Rights of the Chil d to handle issues of children's rights professionally.A total of954special commissioners were placed in Regional Legal Affairs Bureaus and District Legal Affairs Bureaus nationwide as of July1,2005,in order to provide consultation services to victims of bullying and to take appropriate measures to eliminate the practice of bullying(Source:The Civil Liberties Bureau of Ministry of Justice).