Facilities providing shelter to children unable to live at home are in crisis, with an influx of abused youngsters pushing occupancy rates to the limit and caregivers walking out due to the unbearable workload.
"Facilities everywhere are full, and we will have to find those in other prefectures that can accept children," an administrator in the Kanto area said.
There are around 550 juvenile nursing facilities nationwide, housing about 33,000 children. Most of them are run privately with the help of government subsidies, while a small number are publicly run.