A bill pending before the Saitama Prefectural Assembly that would have made it illegal for guardians to leave children unattended at home or let them play outside by themselves will be withdrawn following a public uproar.
The bill, which would have banned guardians from leaving their children unattended even for a short while, had been criticized by many parents in the prefecture and beyond as being too restrictive and impossible to follow.
The bill was scheduled for a vote by the plenary session on Friday, but the ruling Liberal Democratic Party group of the assembly that introduced it gave up pursuing its passage in the wake of public opposition, said Takumi Tamura, one of the bill’s campaigners.