TOKYO - A MALE cheerleader at a Japanese university killed himself after he was bullied by his fellow cheerleaders, media reported on Wednesday.

The dead student, whose name has not been released, committed suicide in July after he was forced to strip naked and videotaped by senior students, the Sankei newspaper reported.

A recent investigation by authorities at Tokyo's Meiji University found violence was rife in the cheerleading squad, which ceased activities in September, the reports said.

Younger members were hit in the face, chased with fireworks and forced to eat grass, the Asahi newspaper reported.

'I just wanted him to have a good time,' the student's weeping father told TV Asahi on Tuesday.

'It's so sad.'

Besides women cheerleaders, many Japanese colleges have mixed or male cheerleading teams.

In the men's groups, their black uniforms, drums and salutes evoke their roots in the militarist 1920s.

Meiji University officials could not be reached for comment.

Bullying has long bedevilled Japan from schoolyards to workplaces.

A government survey in November found 125,000 cases of bullying in elementary, middle and high schools in the year to March, but more cases are believed to go unreported. -- REUTERS