Category: Children

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 30, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Disability Japan Mental Health

Suicides among school children in Japan at highest level since 1980, overall figure declines for second consecutive year

Elementary, junior high and high school students accounted for 527 of those completing suicide, the highest level since records began in 1980, with the number staying above 500 for the third straight year. Of them, a record 163 junior high school students killed themselves.

The number of people who killed themselves in Japan fell to 20,268 in 2024, marking the second consecutive year of decline and the second-lowest level after 20,169 in 2019, the health ministry said Wednesday.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 18, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Japan Nursing Care

Ex-Nursery Worker Ruled Not Guilty over Girl’s Death in 2017

A Japanese district court Thursday found a former worker of a nursery school not guilty of assaulting and killing a 1-year-old girl in 2017.
Judge Takeshi Okuyama, who presided over the lay-judge trial at Yokohama District Court in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, issued the ruling, rejecting the prosecution’s demand for a 10-year prison term for the former worker.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 13, 2025 Number of comments0
Care Children Day Care Service Disability Japan Podcast

Japan’s parents of children with disabilities face “18-year-old wall”, forced to quit jobs to care for children [Podcast Episode]

The Association of Parents Who Work While Raising Children with Disabilities and Children with Medical Care held a press conference at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on December 17, 2024. When children turn 18 and graduate from special-needs schools, they can no longer receive after-school day care services, which are available until around 6 pm. The majority of these services end around 3:00 p.m., forcing parents to leave their jobs to watch over and care for their children. Some parents refer to this the “18-year-old barrier”.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 9, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Crime Japan

Arrested man faces murder charge over Japan McDonald’s stabbings

A 43-year-old man arrested over the stabbing of a boy at a McDonald’s restaurant in southwestern Japan last month was newly charged on Thursday 9th January with the murder of a 15-year-old girl who was also a victim of the attack, police said. The arrested man told the police he targeted the pair for a specific reason, and the attacks were not random, adding that the victims are “not at fault.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 14, 2024 Number of comments0
Children Day Care Service Japan

Japan Discussing Details of Day Care for All Infants

Japan’s Children and Families Agency has begun discussions on details of the planned program to make day care services available for all infants regardless of whether their parents are working or not, sources said. Under the program, set to be fully launched as early as fiscal 2025, day care services will be available for a certain amount of time for all children aged 6 months to 2 years who do not attend nursery schools.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 18, 2024 Number of comments0
Children COVID-19 Disability Eating Disorders Japan

Study Indicates Obesity Increased among Japan Children during Pandemic

Obesity increased among junior high school students in Japan in fiscal 2020 to 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a study by the National Center for Child Health and Development has shown.
The study analyzed the health checkup data of about 186,000 people who graduated from junior high school between fiscal 2020 and 2022 and compared the results with predicated figures based on such data of about 210,000 people who graduated in fiscal 2019 or earlier, before the pandemic.