Record number of child abuse cases in 2016 increasing strain on welfare workers

So lets face it, some Japanese can be very cruel people behind the veil, or mask they hide.

The more you scratch the surface here, the more disdain you will discover.

Are the workers being paid a pittance and being overworked like those who care for children or the elderly?

Small living space in Japan may have something to do with this issue.

I am just scared to see how it is going to be in the upcoming years if this continuous.

I doubt abuse itself is increasing, it just being reported more. And what might have been once regarded as "discipline" is being viewed as violence against the child.

This is good, especially for a country where traditionally the authorities are not pro-active with family matters.

I hope the government can devote more resources to it.

After reviewing 12 suspected cases, the commission made its own decision that eight deaths were a result of child abuse.

The deaths from negligence and stupidity should also be included in this number. The little girl that was thrown out of a car the other, the 3 year old boy that fell off a breakwall the other day, the many kids that fall out of highrise windows and off stairwells, toddlers hit by cars in car parks. Negligence is also child abuse.

Disillusioned

Negligence is negligence and deliberate child abuse is a step up (or down) from there.

Someone who forgets to put their kid in a child seat is not the same as a direct abuser of children.

There are about 1 million births in Japan every year. 122578 cases of abuse per year suggests about 12% of children are abused at some point during their childhood, or the same children are being abused multiple times. It seems a rather high proportion.

@thepersoniamnow - Someone who forgets to put their kid in a child seat is not the same as a direct abuser of children.

I'm sorry, but you are wrong! Negligence is also a form of child abuse. Child abuse does not necessarily have to be a deliberate act of violence.

From the dictionary;

Child abuse; noun

mistreatment of a child by a parent or guardian, including neglect, beating, and sexual molestation.

It's not inceasing, it's just being reported more which is a good thing.

Disillusioned

I don't need a dictionary, but if you can't see the difference then pick up the newspaper and see how judges and jurys treat deliberate actions, and then see how they treat negligence (especially when it's not deliberate).

But if you prefer to broad stroke everyone and everyone's actions...well ok then. Go ahead and punish someone who fell asleep while they should have been watching their child in the same way as a child predator. Nice thinking!

Fallout from the breakdown of the family unit.In the past, both parents and at least one set of grandparents and a whole host of extended family was involved in child rearing. Now that families are falling apart, children are suffering.

Sorry BB, this is incorrect, the abuse has been happening for many decades non-stop, only difference is more reporting of abuse, so I imagine there is still a lot not yet being reported, this is a HUGE problem here. Like many things families do all they can to HIDE their dirty laundry, its part of the culture.

And along with care for the elderly, or families with newborns the govt is WAY BEHIND in offering useful services, but at least there seems to be a start....

@thepersoniamnow - But if you prefer to broad stroke everyone and everyone's actions...well ok then. Go ahead and punish someone who fell asleep while they should have been watching their child in the same way as a child predator. Nice thinking!

Why is it "nice thinking"? It's the same thing! I'm guessing you don't have any kids. Raising children is a responsibility, not a right. If you cannot handle the responsibility, you should not have children and they should be removed from the unsafe environment. Anybody who neglects their children's safety or wellbeing is guilty of child abuse. Every time you see a small child jumping around in the front seat of a car, running through a supermarket car park, wondering around a shopping centre unsupervised or being sat at table in an izakaya at 10pm with a group of drunk amd smoking adults, these kids are victims of child abuse. It's difficult to pinpoint what a perfect parent should be, but it's very easy to describe a bad and neglectful parent.

You mean the welfare workers might have to put the coffee cups down, get up from their desks, and do their jobs for a change? Because all you ever hear about is how these guys DON'T do their jobs, which is why a lot of the abuse goes on in the first place. How many of these abuse cases are AFTER social services or what have you sent the children home to the abusers?

about 12% of children are abused at some point during their childhood, or the same children are being abused multiple times. It seems a rather high proportion.

It does seem high. However, it is comparable with figures reported in the UK. ("There were over 58,000 children identified as needing protection from abuse in the UK in 2016." - from a children's charity website. UK population is about half of Japan's.)

The article says "122,578 child abuse cases were handled", so perhaps not new reports but the number currently recorded as being at risk. Once a child is considered "at risk", does that status remain throughout their childhood? If so, the percentage should perhaps be calculated over the entire child population, not just annual births.

Is it an increasing number of cases, or an increasing number of people reporting cases? Whichever it is it's pretty shocking.

Ok disillusioned...clearly everyone that makes a mistake should be punished and have their kidz taken away from them.

Whatever man, I guess you have never made a mistake with your kidz either. And thank goodness for that, because (as you know) if you ever mistakenly even neglected their needs in any way you would be a ...well you labeled yourself already I suppose.

Disgusting. Children are the most vulnerable members of public and should be protected from abuse, violence and negligence by any means.