Next year Japan will take another step forward toward strengthening the protection of the weaker members of society. The Diet has passed a law to prevent cruel treatment of the aged and to assist those taking care of them. Preparations are being made for implementing the law in April. Enactment of the law follows a separate one to prevent cruel treatment of children as well as a law against domestic violence.
The government's move to further protect the human rights and dignity of elderly people is an encouraging development. Japan has been said to be three decades behind Western Europe and North America in legal and institutional measures to protect such people.
Awareness of the problem heightened after the introduction of the nursing-care insurance system in 2000. As home helpers began visiting the homes of aged people in need of nursing care, they found elderly people suffering from cruel treatment. Because of the absence of a relevant law, however, officials of local governments have been reluctant to intervene.