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Saturday, September 13, 2003

Child abuse hits record 23,738 cases in Japan

Agence France-Presse
Tokyo, September 12

The number of child abuse cases in Japan rose by 464 to a record 23,738 for
the year to March, a government official said on Friday, calling for an
effective campaign to tackle the growing problem.

The number of child abuse cases reported to child welfare centres across the
nation has risen every year since 1990, when the Health, Labour and Welfare
Ministry began its annual survey, the ministry official said.

"The pace of increase is slowing down, compared with the results some years
ago, when the number of child abuse cases rose by 4,000 or 6,000," the
ministry official said.

"But we have to face the fact that the figure is still growing," he said.
"It is necessary for both central and local authorities to take effective
measures, including improvement in function of local child welfare centers,"
he added.

Cases of physical abuse came to 19,032, accounting for 46 per cent of the
total, while 8,940 instances of parental neglect were recorded, the official
said.

Psychological abuse cases totaled 3,046 and there were 820 cases of sexual
abuse. In some instances victims suffered a combination of abuses.
About half the child victims were under six years-old, the official added.

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