Tokyo- The Diet, Japan's parliament, on Wednesday enacted bills to strengthen family courts' engagement in child abuse cases to better deal with an increasing number of such acts in the country.

The bills to revise laws, including the child welfare law, were approved by a unanimous vote at a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber.

The House of Representatives, the lower chamber, passed them earlier.

The enforcement date for the revised laws will be set by a government ordinance later.

The revised laws allow family courts to urge child consultation centers to instruct parents to improve the nurturing environments for their children.

These centers can already issue such instructions, but they often face strong resistance from parents. The law revisions are designed to enhance the effectiveness of the centers' instructions.

Based on the centers' reports on the degree of improvement in the situations, family courts will decide whether it is necessary to take measures such as leaving abused children to foster parents or child care facilities.

Currently, children are allowed to be sheltered away from parents without their permission for up to two months in principle as an emergency step. The revised laws newly stipulate that separation exceeding two months requires screenings and approval by family courts. (Jiji Press)