Alarmed by a rise in child abuse cases, medical specialists, social workers and nurses have recently joined forces to establish a new study body.
The group, the Japanese Medical Society on Child Abuse and Neglect, held its inaugural meeting last month in Kitakyushu.
According to its preliminary reports, there were 42,662 cases during the 12 months to last March in which counselors were asked by child consultation centers to look after the mental health of abused children. The number marked a sixfold rise from 10 years earlier.