Two girls' deaths after alleged abuse expose shortcomings in Japan's child-protection services
The January death of 10-year-old Mia Kurihara in Chiba Prefecture, allegedly at the hands of her abusive father, shocked Japan after coming on the heels of a similar case involving a 5-year-old girl in Tokyo's Meguro Ward last year. In both cases, the children sought ...
Survey finds that half of Japan's home care workers experienced harassment in 2018
Around 50 percent of home care workers reported in a recent government survey that they had experienced some form of harassment from those being cared for, it was learned Sunday. In the first extensive survey conducted by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on people ...
Record 1,380 child abuse cases investigated by Japanese police in 2018, up 21% from year earlier
Of the total, 1,095 cases involved physical abuse, followed by 226 cases of sexual abuse, according to the report by the National Police Agency.
'Simpsons' creators drop classic episode featuring Michael Jackson
The creators of "The Simpsons" have shelved one of the animated series' classic episodes because it features Michael Jackson's voice, the show's executive producer told The Wall Street Journal Friday. Simpsons producers made the unanimous decision after viewing the bombshell documentary "Leaving Neverland," which revives ...
Safety of 2,936 children flagged in June still unknown as of November, welfare ministry says
The number of children who had not been confirmed safe as of the end of November totaled 2,936, the welfare ministry said in a report Thursday. Some 15,270 children who haven't received early medical checkups or enrolled in childcare facilities or schools were identified as ...
Bhutanese exchange students face extortion, threats and hard times in Japan, families say
Many participants say the program is a scam and they are being forced to repay loans by working illegally long hours.
Conservative Catholic cardinals blame 'homosexual agenda' for abuse crisis
Two cardinals criticized on Wednesday Pope Francis's approach to the clerical pedophilia crisis, saying "abuse of power" was not to blame but homosexuality. "We turn to you with deep distress! The Catholic world is adrift," U.S. Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke and German Cardinal Walter Brandmueller ...
U.N. rights panel calls on Japan to address high levels of violence against children
A U.N. panel expressed concern Thursday about "the high level of violence, sexual abuse and exploitation of children" in Japan, in the wake of the death of a 10-year-old girl in Chiba Prefecture due to alleged mistreatment. The Committee on the Rights of the Child ...
Former nurse, held over elder abuse case in Gifu Prefecture, may be linked to four other cases
A nurse who previously worked at a home for the elderly in central Japan was arrested Sunday for an alleged 2017 assault on a resident in her 90s, with police suspecting he was also involved in four other cases. Takeshi Odori, 33, is suspected to ...
The girl, found dead last week, had reported the abuse to her school in 2017 and was taken into protective custody for about seven weeks.
Sex crime survivors start caravan to India's capital, demanding justice
Hundreds of people set out from Mumbai to India's capital, New Delhi, on Thursday in a caravan aimed at pressuring authorities to speed up trials of perpetrators of sex crimes, and to encourage victims to speak out. Government data shows reported cases of overall crimes ...
Female politicians, journalists of color in U.K., U.S. face rampant online abuse: Amnesty
Female politicians and journalists of color in Britain and the U.S. are disproportionately targeted for online abuse, according to a crowdsourced study that found they received "problematic messages" every 30 seconds on average. The assessment — by Amnesty International and artificial intelligence company Element AI ...
