An Education Ministry panel proposed Friday that parents and schools, police and other relevant bodies communicate with each other and work closely to try to detect early signs of juveniles contemplating crimes in a bid to stop them, ministry sources said.
A study council set up by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry to consider juveniles' problems analyzed recent heinous crimes committed by minors and made the proposal in a report.
The report notes that many crimes were committed by juveniles who had no history of delinquency or criminal behavior and showed no warning signs that they might commit crimes.
In order to spot these signs, the report suggests that schools, police, parent-teacher associations and local juvenile counseling centers build information-sharing networks and, if necessary, form support teams.
The council examined the backgrounds of a number of recent juvenile crimes, including the bus hijacking in Fukuoka in which a woman was killed and the murder of a couple in Aichi Prefecture. Both crimes were committed by 17-year-old boys last May.
The council found that many juveniles have emotional problems and stress, echoing the result of a survey on juvenile crimes between 1997 and 1999, published Wednesday by a Supreme Court body.
The court's Research and Training Institute for Family Court Probation Officers said many juvenile criminals have suffered serious setbacks in their lives.
The Education Ministry's council said many children lack the ability to socialize and are not disciplined at home.
Therefore, they do not seem to share traditional ethical values.
Schools and teachers offer inadequate support to overcome these shortcomings, the council said.
The ministry plans to work out measures to stem juvenile crimes based on the council's findings, the sources said.