Tsurumi Children's Hospice opened its doors in the city of Osaka in April to provide young people with serious medical conditions and disabilities a place to play and spend quality time with their families outside their homes.
Unlike a typical palliative care institution for the terminally ill, the Tsurumi hospice caters to children with special needs who are often prevented from playing outdoors with friends over fears of infection or because of their restricted mobility.
Such a facility is rare in Japan, where around 200,000 children aged 15 or younger are estimated to have cancer or other serious illnesses.