Category: Children

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.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt September 4, 2025 1
Children Crime Disability Japan

(Update) Nagoya Prosecutors Urged to Deem Girl, Hinami, Born Severely Disabled after Accident as Victim

The family of a pregnant woman who died after being hit by a vehicle in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, is urging prosecutors to recognize her newborn daughter—left severely disabled due to the accident—as a legal victim. Sayaka Togitani, 31, died two days after the May 21 incident, and her daughter Hinami was delivered via emergency cesarean section but suffered brain damage from fetal hypoxia. While the 50-year-old driver has been indicted for negligent driving resulting in Sayaka’s death, no charges have been filed in relation to Hinami, as she was a fetus at the time under Japan’s Criminal Code. On September 2, Sayaka’s husband, Yudai, submitted a petition with over 112,000 signatures calling for prosecutors to also pursue charges for the injury to Hinami. At the driver’s first court hearing the same day, they admitted guilt and apologized, while Yudai emphasized the importance of acknowledging his daughter’s life and suffering.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 21, 2025 Number of comments0
Abuse Care Children Disability Japan

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

An after-school day service facility for children with disabilities in Hiroshima City has been penalized after staff, including the operator’s representative, were found to routinely use wrestling moves, shouting, and hitting as a supposed form of “communication” with children—behavior described by a former employee as a daily occurrence and treated as “part of a game.” Hiroshima City has suspended the operator Watanohana for three months.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 20, 2025 Number of comments0
Abuse Care Children Disability Japan Podcast

Hiroshima Support Facility for Children with Disabilities Faces ‘Administrative Action’ After Abuse Discovered [Podcast Episode]

In Hiroshima City, at a support facility that takes care of children with disabilities, abuse such as hitting a child on the buttocks was found to have occurred. In addition, improper receipt of benefit payments was confirmed. As a result, the city has taken administrative action, including revoking the operator’s authorization.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 19, 2025 2
Abuse Care Children Disability Japan

After Cases of Abuse are Discovered, Hiroshima Support Facility for Children with Disabilities Faces Administrative Action

In Hiroshima City, at a support facility that takes care of children with disabilities, abuse such as hitting a child on the buttocks was found to have occurred. In addition, improper receipt of benefit payments was confirmed. As a result, the city has taken administrative action, including revoking the operator’s authorization.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 30, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Disability Japan Podcast Ukraine

Japan provides support for children with disabilities in Ukraine [Podcast Episode]

Japan has provided rehabilitation equipment to Ukraine to help support children with disabilities. More than 130 items are being delivered to the capital city of Kyiv through the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The gear includes electric wheelchairs, and robot suits, which help wearers move their lower limbs with less effort. A handover ceremony was held at the rehabilitation center for children with disabilities in Kyiv on Tuesday 22nd July. Some children tried out the devices.