Thorough efforts sought for saving abused children

June 14, 2019

Tokyo--Japan's welfare ministry called on child consultation centers across the country to make sure they follow state-set rules for responses to suspected child abuse cases.

The rules include confirmation of the safety of suspected victims within 48 hours of receiving reports on possible child abuse.

The request to follow the rules thoroughly was made at a meeting of child consultation center heads held at the ministry in central Tokyo, following a recent case of apparent child abuse in which a two-year-old girl was starved to death in the northern Japan city of Sapporo and her mother was arrested for allegedly assaulting her. The mother's boyfriend was also arrested.

Although the state-set rules also say that child consultation centers must recognize the strong likelihood of child abuse if they fail to meet suspected victims, the center in Sapporo is believed to have lacked such risk awareness.

At the opening of the meeting, welfare minister Takumi Nemoto said, "The case (in Sapporo) occurred even though a local child consultation center and the police were involved."

"I want you to work with a sense of mission to serve as the last stronghold for saving the lives of children, the bearers of the future," the minister also said.

With lack of communication between the local child consultation center and the police cited as a factor behind the case in Sapporo, the ministry urged the center heads at the day's meeting to respond actively to requests to accompany police officers when they visit suspected victims to confirm their safety.

Elsewhere in the meeting, many participants reported staff members at child consultation centers struggling under heavy workloads, highlighting the difficulty of making proper responses amid labor shortages. Jiji Press