Child Abuse in Japan, Part I

This is the continuation to http://www.progressiveu.org/023747-child-abuse-and-deliquency-east-and-west-introduction

Many Americans, particularly teenagers, practically idolize Japan - largely in due to the rising popularity of anime, a style of Japanese cartoon. Japan is often pointed to as a peaceful, safe country to live in, and is a popular destination for many young American tourists (16). The Japanese society is one that holds honor highly - until recently, it was a highly militaristic country of brutal warriors who were known to even kill themselves for doing something perceived as dishonorable. After their sudden, massive defeat in World War II, this culture changed drastically, and now it seems Japan's culture is confused, influenced by both the East and the West, a culture once powerful and recently defeated. Many Japanese feel a lack of identity, of purpose.

Still though, the code of honor remains - and with it, the code of silence, for Japan is not at all the "safe" country many believe it to be. On the surface, it does appear more peaceful than others - for instance, it's often pointed to as a country with a very low rate of rape. However, when I followed up on this claim, I discovered it was based only on reported and recorded rapes to the police (51). In a society with such a strict code of honor, rape is seem as a terribly shameful thing for the victim, a terrible blow to her honor - and thus he/she does not usually report it (51).

The same goes for other type of abuse, as well as mental health issues (often stemming from abuse) which are frequently seen as shameful and solved by suicide. As I feel Japan is a clear example of how society allows or ignores child abuse, I have decided to focus on subject, and focus more on the personal effects of trauma on the victim and on juvenile delinquency in my study of abuse in the USA.

Neglect and Physical Abuse in Japan

In the past, Japanese households were usually made up of a large, extended family. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc, all lived within the same house, often their entire life. Thus children were raised not only by their parents, but also by any other adults in the household, and there were typically always adults around to watch over the children. Although abuse did occur, it was unusual for serious, life-threatening physical abuse or neglect to go unnoticed by the adults in the household, though it might be unknown to the authorities as such a thing would be a private family matter, dealt with quietly and discreetly in order to avoid shame and dishonor (8, 16, 31).

However, with the massive defeat of the Japanese in World War II and the following rapid Westernization and cultural/societal changes in Japan, this traditional family system is fragmenting, and the rate of child abuse is rising. Mothers often find themselves raising their children virtually alone, as Japanese men spend more and more time at the workplace, often arriving home after nine pm and leaving before seven in the morning (43, 51).

In a Japanese study that looked at 293 fatal cases of child abuse (of children under the age of 15) between 1994 and 2004 found that in 177 of the cases - over half - the mother was the offender (47). Murder-suicides, with mothers killing their children and then themselves, are particularly common, and the mothers often cite the reason for the murders as a desire to protect their children from the hardships of life. Typically those mothers are also experiencing severe depression and stress from parenting and from debt, and say they feel lost, hopeless, and alone. On the other hand, most fathers who kill their children cite anger and malice as the reason for their violence, and say they didn't feel a strong parental connection (26, 27, 47, 48).

This strengthens the view that abuse rates are rising due to the collapse of the traditional family structure - that same study found that during those years, child abuse rates tripled (47). Other studies report similar findings - for instance, child-guidance centers, the public agencies charges with overseeing the welfare of children, received 34,472 reports of abuse in 2005, over 30 times the amount reported in 1990 (48). This may be due to increased reporting rates, but also to abuse rates actually rising as Japanese culture disintegrates. Domestic abuse is also rising, with over 50% of Japanese women reporting having experienced physical and/or psychological abuse in at least one relationship, but frequently more (23, 51).

Yet despite the widespread problem of abuse and child abuse in particular, authorities continue to overlook it. Honor is still a strong value in Japanese culture, leading both victims and witnesses to remain silent about crime, particularly crime committed by a family member, for to report it would be to bring tremendous shame on the family.

Loose laws frequently allow abuse. For instance, if someone was to notice that a neighboring child was being beaten or neglected, they could report it - but very little would be done. First, the agency would contact the teachers of the child, and if those teachers noticed anything out of the ordinary, they were to re-contact the agency. The case worker would then go to the parents and talk to them about the suspected abuse, and ask to interview the child and the parents. However, if at that point the parents refused the interview, the case worker would be obligated to leave. A similar policy is in place for domestic abuse - an abused wife can call the police, but the police must leave immediately if her husband tells them to (18, 31, 43).

Even when abusers are caught, their sentences are often quite low. For example, in December 2007, a man was sentenced to five years in prison - after beating his two-year-old step-son to death for tipping over a garbage can (27). Another man who fatally burned his two-month-old son received only two years and eight months in prison (26). A woman who fatally stabbed her two children - aged two and three months - after suspecting the older son might be autistic received eight years, only four per murder (22).

Child abuse is also frequently overlooked. A study by the Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry of 202 child-abuse deaths between 2000 and 2004 discovered that authorities had at least some foreknowledge of the abuse in 81% of the cases. In about a third of the cases, abuse was suspected but not reported. In a fifth of the cases, authorities deemed that no intervention was necessary (48).

The high rate of child abuse in Japan, as well as societal acceptance of it, is unsurprising when one looks, again, at the culture of Japan. Traditionally in Japanese culture, the elders are the most important members of the family. Children frequently sleep in the same bed as their parents or older relatives - not because it's supposed to be good for the child, but because it's supposed to be good for the elder. The elders are the ones to be honored and respected, while children were more objects to serve them (18, 51).

This is still clearly evident in Japan today - while allocations for the elderly usually account for about 70% of total social-security expenditures, the allocations for children and family services are consistently under four percent (24). Clearly, in order for the abuse to end and for Japanese children to live normal, productive lives, they must be seen as valuable and unique beings in their own right, and the practice of staying silent to preserve the family honor must end.

Part three coming soon. The numbers refer to the sources that will be listed at the end. If you liked this post, please rate it and check out the rest of my blog!