Fight Club Japan? Japanese Youths Arrested for Violating 1889 Anti-Dueling Law

12 children between the ages of 15 and 17 were recently arrested in Japan for dueling, which has been outlawed since 1889. The children were members of rival fight groups from Yokohama and Tokyo, and they had established intricate rules for their bouts, including that the dueling partners be chosen with consent from both groups; that hair-pulling be disallowed; and that fighting to the death be permitted unless one fighter gives up first. At the time of their arrest, the group from Yokohama was ahead by three wins to two. One of the children had suffered serious injuries to his arm and head. This was not an isolated incident of dueling. In March, six junior high school students from Kunitachi were also arrested for dueling. ("Youths Arrested for Violating 116-year-old Dueling Law," Mainichi Shimbun--Japan, 5/26/05).

Interestingly, one of the recently arrested children wonders what all the fuss is about: "What's wrong with hitting each other with consent?" His comment goes to our earlier discussion on 14-year old American boys boxing (with supervision) and engaging in ultimate fighting (with or without supervision), and also how some wonder whether external influences, such as video games and violent movies, might encourage children to partake in violent activity. Then again, perhaps it is more revealing that over 99 percent of children do not engage in violent activity, despite these so-called explanatory influences.

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