The government may go after what it regards as harmful information on the Internet following last week's bombing of a Yamaguchi Prefecture classroom by a youth who claimed he learned how to make explosives from a Web site, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Tuesday.
"Government agencies and ministries have begun considering (via a task force) how to deal chiefly with illegal and harmful information," the top government spokesman told a news conference.
The task force, established in February, will accelerate its study on measures to deal with Web sites that show how to make explosives, tempt group suicides and sell illegal and counterfeit products, he said.
Steps may include tracking and asking operators of such sites to close them down. But the effectiveness of any action will also be examined because Web site closures are not enforceable, Hosoda said.
The 18-year-old student was arrested after injuring dozens of students Friday by throwing a homemade explosive into a classroom at his high school.
Bullying a factor
YAMAGUCHI (Kyodo) Bullying may have prompted an 18-year-old student to throw an explosive into a classroom at his high school in Yamaguchi Prefecture, according to the boy's principal.
"Some form of bullying may have been behind the bombing incident," Principal Yukio Hironaka told a news conference Monday.
When the attack occurred Friday, the school claimed the student had never been bullied.