Abuse was “part of a game” at Hiroshima Support Facility for Children with Disabilities Facing Administrative Action

By Barrier Free Japan

August 21 2025

HIROSHIMA – At an after-school day service for children with disabilities in Hiroshima City, staff were found to regularly subject children to inappropriate treatment, acts that insiders say had become routine. A former employee reported that professional wrestling moves, shouting, and even hitting were carried out “every day” as the facility’s standard way of interacting with children.

FNN obtained footage that shows the male representative of the operator, Watanohana, twisting a child’s leg in a wrestling move while the child screamed “Stop!” The man later defended his actions as “part of a game” and a form of communication. However, former staff describe the behavior as normalized, saying, “The atmosphere was unusual. They didn’t seem to realize it was wrong.”

Hiroshima City has confirmed repeated inappropriate conduct at the facility, Watacco Club, and on September 1st suspended Watanohana’s designation for three months, citing violations of the duty to respect human dignity. In addition, two other facilities run by the operator were found to lack required full-time staff and to have fraudulently claimed subsidies, leading to further penalties including revocation of business licenses.