Category: Children

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 31, 2026 Number of comments0
Children Japan Mental Health

Japan Forms Group to Protect Juveniles from Social Media Issues

Japan’s Children and Families Agency has set up a working group to discuss possible regulation of social media services to prevent juveniles from being caught up in problems via the internet. The group will mull measures while taking into account a revision of the law to improve the environment for young people’s safe and secure internet use, which restricts the browsing of harmful information by such people. The group, expected to release an interim report in July, will have opportunities to exchange opinions with junior and senior high school students.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 30, 2026 Number of comments0
Children Disability Japan Mental Health

Suicides in Japan Fall below 20,000 for 1st Time in 2025, Students Reach Record High

The number of people who died by suicide in Japan in 2025 came to 19,097, standing below 20,000 for the first time since the statistics began in 1978, preliminary government data showed Thursday.  Suicides among elementary, junior high and senior high school students came to 532, hitting a record high for the second straight year since comparable data became available in 1980.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 29, 2026 Number of comments0
Children Crime Disability Japan Pregnancy

Prosecutors Amend Indictment in Fatal Crash Involving Pregnant Woman, Stops Short of Injury Charge for Fetus

At the second hearing on Jan. 26 at the Ichinomiya branch of the Nagoya District Court, prosecutors amended the indictment in a fatal traffic accident case involving a pregnant woman to include harm caused to the fetus, while declining to apply a separate charge of negligent driving resulting in injury to the child. The husband of the victim, Yudai Togitani, who lost his wife and whose daughter was left with severe disabilities, said the grief of losing his wife and the anger over having his daughter’s future taken away have remained unchanged since the accident, adding that he could not accept that his daughter was not treated as a victim when her name was initially omitted from the indictment.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt November 22, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Disability Japan Welfare

Japan to Provide Child-Rearing Support Allowance of 20,000 Yen per Child

The Japanese government will provide all households with children aged zero to 18 with a support allowance of 20,000 yen per child as a one-time measure, the Children and Families Agency said Friday. Also, to support low-income households raising children, including single-parent families, the government will expand the menu of an existing priority support local grant program so that municipalities can utilize it to provide cash benefits in addition to the new support allowance.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt November 18, 2025 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Care Children Disability Group Homes (GH) Japan

90% of Families of People with Disabilities in Japan “Worried” About Life After Parents’ Death

A recent survey by a private organization has revealed widespread anxiety among families of adults with disabilities in Japan, with 90.2% expressing worry about their loved one’s life after the parents pass away, and 58.2% reporting they are reaching the limits of providing care.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 27, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Disability Japan Mental Health Podcast

Japan student suicides hit record high in 2024 despite overall decline [Podcast Episode]

Japan’s overall suicides fell to 20,320 in 2024, the second-lowest figure on record, but the number of schoolchildren who took their own lives rose to a record 529, government data showed. Suicides among junior high school students reached their highest level since statistics began in 1980, with school-related problems cited as the leading cause. The 2025 White Paper on Suicide Prevention noted that overdoses, including those involving over-the-counter drugs, were a major factor among young people, prompting plans to tighten restrictions on drug sales to minors. Despite the nationwide decline, experts warn the record student suicides reflect deepening mental health and social issues among Japan’s youth.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 25, 2025 1
Children Disability Japan Mental Health

Japan student suicides hit record high in 2024 despite overall decline

Japan’s overall suicides fell to 20,320 in 2024, the second-lowest figure on record, but the number of schoolchildren who took their own lives rose to a record 529, government data showed. Suicides among junior high school students reached their highest level since statistics began in 1980, with school-related problems cited as the leading cause. The 2025 White Paper on Suicide Prevention noted that overdoses, including those involving over-the-counter drugs, were a major factor among young people, prompting plans to tighten restrictions on drug sales to minors. Despite the nationwide decline, experts warn the record student suicides reflect deepening mental health and social issues among Japan’s youth.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 2, 2025 Number of comments0
Abuse Children Crime Education Japan Sexual abuse

Japanese Teacher Admits Sharing Child Pornography

Japanese elementary school teacher Fumiya Kosemura pleaded guilty to charges of sharing child pornography via social media, in the first hearing on his case at Nagoya District Court on Wednesday. The charges are “correct, and I’m very sorry,” said Kosemura, 37, a teacher at a public elementary school in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, who has been indicted for voyeurism and indecent assault. According to the indictment, Kosemura filmed secretly the underwear of a 7-year-old girl at a facility in Kanagawa and shared the video data within the group between January and February this year.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt September 12, 2025 Number of comments0
Abuse Children Disability Japan

Child Abuse Deaths Total 65 in Japan in FY 2023

The number of children who died from abuse totaled 65 in Japan in fiscal 2023, down by seven from the preceding year, an expert panel of the Children and Families Agency said Thursday. Excluding family suicide cases, the figure came to 48. Of them, 33 died before reaching 1 year old, including 16, who passed away within 24 hours after birth, up by seven. Most of their mothers were not given maternal and child health handbooks, and local governments were therefore unaware of their pregnancies, according to the government agency.