The government on Friday said it will compile measures aimed at preventing child abuse following the recent death of a 5-year-old girl, who had written "forgive me" in a notebook to beg her parents to stop mistreating her.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for "sweeping measures" during a meeting with Cabinet ministers, saying the government cannot allow such an incident to happen again.
Abe instructed Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Katsunobu Kato and other ministers to urgently come up with new ideas to protect children.