Japan reports record high 207,000 child abuse cases in FY2021

Maaaan. wtf Japan, seriously. 200k?? Jesus, you can't complain about having low child birthrate if you're already abusing this many. Get yo act together.

Parents . . . should remember their children will grow up someday to be the nation of Japan . . . .

We’re always told what a safe(ty) country Japan is.

We’re always told what a safe(ty) country Japan is.

Becasue it is . In the US there are over 800,000 cases a year.

Becasue it is . In the US there are over 800,000 cases a year

That's a great whataboutism, when you don't like to hear the reality about your country, just deflect it onto another one, for example the one that has 3x the population of your country, is not xenophobic, and has accepted hundreds of millions of immigrants into its land. But yeah, let's talk about other countries, anything to ignore the ugly reality of what's happening in Japan.

Newgirlintown - We’re always told what a safe(ty) country Japan is.

It is safe if you are a middle aged man. However, if you are a child, a woman or elderly you are not safe.

Mio

We’re always told what a safe(ty) country Japan is.

Becasue it is . In the US there are over 800,000 cases a year.

The US has four times the population of Japan which makes Japan the same as the US. It's amusing how Japanese always defend themselves by comparing with other countries. Comparing with other countries does not make Japan better or hide the shame. It actually makes Japan look very petty.

The US has four times the population of Japan

Not quite.

The population of Japan is 126 million.

The population of the US 330 million

2.6 times.

207,000 cases are 207,000 cases too many.

I see it all the time here.

Probably a fraction of actual cases because a majority of abuse relationships are hidden within the family.

Has to really stand out for, say, a neighbour , to report....especially in this nation of "see no evil " , dont cause a fuss citizens.

Mostly children being psychologically abused think the behaviour is normal.

They dont have a comparable family to measure against, and kids keep quiet about negative stuff at home.

Schools too busy monitoring student hair colour and finger nails to teach kids about their rights ....or teach they dont have rights because they're kids.

Japan fails on the test of how a country "treats its elderly and children " , fails on the incorporation of disabled into mainstream .

And there seems no change in sight because the nation is ruled, not governed , by a wealthy autocratic class who see Japan as an economy not a society.

That's a great whataboutism, when you don't like to hear the reality about your country, just deflect it onto another one, for example the one that has 3x the population of your country, is not xenophobic, and has accepted hundreds of millions of immigrants into its land. But yeah, let's talk about other countries, anything to ignore the ugly reality of what's happening in Japan.

Exactly! Well said!!

 It's amusing how Japanese always defend themselves by comparing with other countries. Comparing with other countries does not make Japan better or hide the shame. It actually makes Japan look very petty.

So true!

@Disillussioned and Mio

The US has four times the population of Japan which makes Japan the same as the US. It's amusing how Japanese always defend themselves by comparing with other countries. Comparing with other countries does not make Japan better or hide the shame. It actually makes Japan look very petty.

A report published this year that the US had 618,399.

Child abuse in the U.S - Statistics & Facts

https://www.statista.com/topics/5910/child-abuse-in-the-united-states/#dossierKeyfigures

Japan populations = 125,000,000 (207,000 abuse cases)

US population = 330,000,000 (618,399 abuse cases)

Japan in terms of child abuse is no safer than the US.

Based only on these numbers, Japan is more dangerous for children with more child deaths committed by mothers.

We’re always told what a safe(ty) country Japan is.

Or how unique japanese culture was responsible for the low virus rates. Look at them now.

The fundamental problem with the Japanese way of thinking is that

they try to highlight distinctions and differences between themselves and the rest of the world in an age where we strive to highlight our similarities.

they spend more time hiding their problems than actually fixing them which causes the problems to mushroom out of control

letsberealistic

agree with all of your posts. Well said!

And these are only the reported ones. There is a culture of shame here. This is only the top of the iceberg.

forced masks, work at home, schools going online, social distancing, only seeing human beings eyes, recession and rising daily living expenses…what do you expect?

Like the pandemic, Japan similar to other countries likes to hide its dirty laundry. When it is exposed, then its common strategy is to deflect to the Whataboutism.

That seems to be the easiest rebuttal for the ill-informed. Sometimes, those comparisons are not even correct.

I have seen it so many times dealing with Japanese coworkers and personal relationships with Japanese people.

While the authorities and govt agencies focus on child abuse outside the home, the real abuse happens inside the home. Time to get your priorities right.

DisillusionedToday 08:12 am JST

The US has four times the population of Japan 

Thsi is not true, USA does not have 500 million citizens.

pathetic quality of education

I don't think America has a pathetic quality of education at all.

As for child abuse numbers here, these are worrying and sad numbers.

Japan reports record high 207,000 child abuse cases in FY2021

Dead beat dads and absentee fathers +

inept police force +

no (enforced) laws forcing child support payments +

corrupt LDP only caring about embezzling tax money +

lack of punishment towards child abuse/domestic violence/and sexual predators =

WHAT THE HECK OTHER RESULTS DID YOU EXPECT?

Based only on these numbers, Japan is more dangerous for children with more child deaths committed by mothers.

More child death? That's a bit of a stretch. Though the Kyodo news doesn't cover the death count, the figure in the same report is total 77, whereas 1750 in US(2020).

double suicide 28

neglect 22

physical abuse 21

unknown 6

https://mainichi.jp/articles/20220909/k00/00m/040/112000c

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20220909/k10013810601000.html

Whataboutism is not necessarily unreasonable response in discussion even if it is about Japan as relativity or relative thinking is quite often important to judge the situation.

However, it is more important to focus on the fact the number of cases is increasing incessantly for 31 years (every year new high) or by just comparing with 10years ago, it tripled in Japan.

MioToday 07:59 am JST

We’re always told what a safe(ty) country Japan is.

Because it is . In the US there are over 800,000 cases a year.

Of course Japan is not crime-free, but comparing it with many other countries for sure it is crime-low.

It's not only about children and comparing Japan with USA. For sure Japan is generally considered worldwide to be a very safe country. I do not know about any international crime statistic which is listing Japan as an unsafe place to live.

Japan also has a low reporting culture so it's too hard to compare to other nations where reporting is more accepted and encouraged.

What convinces you that Japan has a low reporting culture? stereotype-much from Shiori-Ito?

For example, in US

At least 1 in 7 children have experienced child abuse or neglect in the past year in the United States. This is likely an underestimate because many cases are unreported. In 2020, 1,750 children died of abuse and neglect in the United States.

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/fastfact.html#:~:text=Child%20abuse%20and%20neglect%20are%20common.,neglect%20in%20the%20United%20States.

From living in Japan for 15 years, reading news reports and talking to many Japanese over the years I would say Japan is unsafe for children and women compared to most developed nations. Where as in the world can a woman expect to be sexually molested on public transport at least once in their life? I only know of Japan.

You base your argument on your premise that Japan is lower in its reporting than those most developed nations, which is highly subjective, especially if you don't live equally for the same length of years in most developed nations. Though I don't bother adding the link, it is common sense, for example, that sexual crimes ( rape, indecent assault) are much higher, 3~7 times as much in Japan's neighbor country on the peninsula.

I challenge anyone to find a single female Japanese person who has not been sexually molested, harassed or worse as a child or adult.

My sister

The biggest issue for Japan is denial.

Denial of what?

letsberealisticToday 03:38 pm JST

From living in Japan for 15 years, reading news reports and talking to many Japanese over the years I would say Japan is unsafe for children and women compared to most developed nations.

I have no idea, after living in Japan for more than 40 years, from where you got this impression.

My Japanese wife, our two daughters and now also our grandchildren are not worried at all to walk around, using train and bus, going to school and back home, regardless if it is daytime or nighttime.

I don't know even a single place in Japan which I consider as unsafe.

I do not know about any international crime statistic, which mentions Japan to be a dangerous place for living.

letsberealisticSep. 10 09:21 am JST

People refuse to accept that yes, Japan is generally safe from petty crime like mugging and theft, but it is comparatively an unsafe nation for women and children. It's important not to rely on numbers reported alone as, in Japan in particular, they don't tell half the story of what's really going on.

Well said! 100% agree

Seeing these figures, I recalled an article from Asahi Shimbun from a few months back on decreasing number of children in Japan, In May 2022, they reported than only 11.7% of Japan’s population was under 15 (14.65 Million children)

As of the last US Census, 21.4% of the US population was under 15 (est. 60.3 Million children)

Globally, about 26% of the worlds population is thought to be under 15.

just some some more context for the abuse rates in the article and in the comments

As [....] is said to 'roll downhill' so, too, the behavioral acting out of desperation rolls down upon the weakest who are, of course, the children. It's said that a country can be judged by how it treats its children and 'desperation' can be seen here and in the number of those who opt out of Life completely. An interesting comparison might be, for the intrepid sociologist, what we see now and what was happening circa 1930-1940 in Japan in this regard when militarism was also the order of the day. I'm just too lazy to do it myself. Rex, you up for it?

It is incredible the number of Japanophile weeb comments like this that will mask up any ills in Japan to protect their narrative of Japan as being 100% cool.

Don’t drop the 2nd paragraph. I didn't mask up any ills in Japan.

However, it is more important to focus on the fact the number of cases is increasing incessantly for 31 years (every year new high) or by just comparing with 10years ago, it tripled in Japan.

Better to compare to other western nations such as Canada, the UK NZ etc.

Re the UK (actually England and Wales):

It is possible to identify 227,530 child abuse offences recorded by the police in the year ending March 2019.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/childabuseinenglandandwales/january2020