Tag - children

 
 

CHILDREN

Masanobu Ogura (center left), then-minister in charge of policies related to children, receives a petition from Hiroki Komazaki (center right), founder of nonprofit organization Florence, in Tokyo on Sept. 1.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Sep 18, 2023
Debate grows in Japan over proposed background checks for teachers
The Children and Families Agency is proposing to make screening for criminal convictions mandatory for people looking to work in schools or nurseries.
An image of a fetus on the screen of a portable ultrasound system.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 15, 2023
The world’s first artificial womb is on the way
The artificial placentas are intended to help struggling prematurely born infants develop much like they would in the prenatal environment.
Masanobu Ogura, minister in charge of policies related to children, speaks at a government meeting on measures to prevent suicides among children, in April.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 12, 2023
Japan steps up efforts to prevent suicides among children
The number of suicides among elementary, junior high and senior high school students has been on the rise, reaching 514 in 2022.
Officers of Chiba Prefectural Police department and child consultation center workers use a model house to conduct joint training in the city of Kimitsu in Chiba Prefecture last November.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2023
Record 219,000 cases of child abuse logged in Japan in fiscal '22
Over half of the total cases were reported to child consultation centers by police.
Masanobu Ogura (right), minister in charge of policies for children, speaks during a meeting of an experts' panel held Tuesday in Tokyo to discuss a planned system to require people seeking jobs related to children to submit certificates proving that they have no record of sex crimes.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2023
Planned sex-offense barring system drafted for child-related jobs
The Children and Families Agency plans to submit a bill to establish the system during this autumn's extraordinary Diet session.
Students at Wakaura Elementary School in the city of Wakayama eat lunch in 2019. Wakayama Prefecture's school lunch program began in April 2017.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 3, 2023
Why a movement for free school lunches is spreading across Japan
By the end of this year, most of Tokyo’s wards will have policies to make lunch free in some form.
The trend of people getting married later could be causing a vicious cycle of fewer children begetting fewer children, says Takuya Hoshino, senior economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2023
Third of Japan's 18-year-old women may never have children: study
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised to tackle the country's population crisis with "unprecedented" measures.
Members of the family law subcommittee of the Justice Ministry's Legislative Council discuss joint parental custody after divorce at the Justice Ministry on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2023
Ministry panel proposes introducing joint custody after divorce
The proposal comes amid increased attention on bitter custodial battles between divorced parents.
Women hold portable fans in front of a baby amid summer heat in Tokyo's Ginza area in August 2020.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 30, 2023
Aging Japan's births fall 3.6% to 370,000 in January to June
The number of births in the six-month period suggests that the annual total in the country this year is likely to stay around the record low in 2022.
Spectators gather in the gallery of the House Chamber during a special session on public safety to discuss gun violence in the wake of the Covenant School shooting, at the Tennessee State Capitol, in Nashville, Tennessee, last Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Aug 28, 2023
Record number of U.S. children killed by guns in '21, study shows
Gun violence has been the number one cause of death for children in the United States since 2020.
Designed by Sadamaranai Obake, Kumomonaka is a wagashi (traditional Japanese confectionery) kit that encourages those in mourning to talk about the past while creating sweets in colors that remind them of their deceased loved ones.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Aug 26, 2023
Japan-made novelties with deeper purpose
The easiest way to understand Japanese cultural concepts might be through these smartly designed products.
The Supreme Court in Tokyo
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 25, 2023
Japan's top court takes steps to ensure preservation of case records
The Supreme Court plans to work hard to change the mentality of court officials and prevent any recurrence of document destruction.
Parents of children who were victims of sex crimes hold a news conference from behind partitions in Tokyo in July 2020.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 22, 2023
Japan to bar sex offenders from work in day nurseries and schools
A system certifying candidates as having no such convictions is being discussed by experts after cases involving sexual abuse by teachers and babysitters.
A couple enjoy the sunset in Seoul. The proportion of people getting married has declined worldwide, but it has plummeted especially far in South Korea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 21, 2023
Seeking love, with help from the city government
Singles are signing up for city-hosted blind-dating events in South Korea, but some point to their inability to address real issues with family planning.
The government plans to make it mandatory for staff candidates at children's facilities, including those for children with disabilities, to submit a certificate of no sex crime record.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2023
Japan considers mandatory sex crime record checks by schools
The government plans to include the requirements in a bill it expects to submit to parliament as early as this fall.
Elizabeth Kutschke at the park with her son Ben, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 15, 2023
When a $2 million gene therapy is not enough
Ben is one of a growing number of patients with spinal muscular atrophy whose doctors are turning to additional drugs in addition to gene therapy.
If you have a specific birth plan in mind, like giving birth at home, it's important to make sure the clinic you use offers that option.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 14, 2023
Giving birth in Japan? Here’s what you need to know.
Giving birth can be overwhelming — even more so if you don’t understand the local language or know the steps you need to take.
Prachi Gupta (left) after the birth of her first child in 2018
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 14, 2023
For foreign expecting mothers in Japan, a struggle over maternity norms
Different expectations over things like natural births and weight gain can cause anxieties for non-Japanese.
The newly created Children and Families Agency unveils its signboard last month.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 6, 2023
Japan to promote new certification tackling child abuse
Set to launch in April 2024, the move is in response to the rise in abuse consultation requests — hitting record highs 31 years in a row.
Vivian Tung eats her first meal since the egg retrieval surgery. Tung is one of a rising number of women in Taiwan opting to freeze their eggs to give them the option to have a child later in life.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 2, 2023
A rising number of women in Taiwan are freezing their eggs
Demand for egg freezing has surged, with the number of women opting for the technology up 86% over the past three years.

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan