Japan has confirmed 914 cases of inappropriate child care, including 90 cases of abuse, at nursery schools across the country between April and December 2022, a survey by the Children and Families Agency showed Friday. Of the 90 abuse cases, there were 36 cases of physical abuse, 42 cases of mental abuse, 20 cases of sexual abuse and four neglect cases. They include cases involving two or more abuse types.
More than 10 percent of children in Japan who developed acute brain syndrome after infection with COVID-19 have died, results of a nationwide survey recently announced by a health ministry research team has shown.
The survey identified 34 cases of acute encephalopathy associated with COVID-19 infection among those under 18 between January 2020 and May 2022. The team analyzed 31 patients who did not have any underlying illnesses that could be responsible for causing the brain disease.
A former director of a company that operated a facility for children with disabilities was accused of defrauding the city of Sakai in Osaka of more than 78 million yen in benefits by making a false application. A complaint was filed.
The number of serious accidents at child care facilities in Japan hit a record high of 2,347 in 2021, with fatalities totaling five, the Cabinet Office said Thursday.
Some 8.7% and 8% of children said they were looking after their parents because of their mental disorder or physical disability, respectively.
A Japanese team led by Keio University said Friday that it has succeeded in identifying in a study using genome analyses the causes of diseases in about half of babies that had been unknown.
There are concerns that if nursery school and certified child care facilities are closed, working parents may not be able to go to work as they will be unable to leave their children at such facilities.
During an investigation where a female employee was arrested for assaulting a child with a disability at a welfare facility in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, it was discovered that several other employees were suspected of abusing the child.
In 2016, Masakazu Shimizu (9 years old at the time), who was a short-term admission at a support facility for children with disabilities in Nakahara Ward, Kawasaki City, died while sleeping. It was judged that the act of a female employee in her teens was “abuse”.
New anorexia cases among people younger than 20 in Japan grew 60 pct from the previous year in fiscal 2020 amid the novel coronavirus crisis, a survey by the National Center for Child Health and Development showed Thursday.
“Stress and anxiety stemming from school closures due to the pandemic and other reasons might have affected them,” the center said.
Barrier Free Japan