Why Is Child Abuse on the Rise in Japan?

Japanese police reported a record 122,806 suspected child abuse cases in 2023, marking a 6.1 percent increase from the previous year, as concerns about the mistreatment of minors continue to rise, according to the National Police Agency.

The agency's data also revealed a surge in criminal investigations related to child abuse, with 2,385 cases investigated last year—a 9.4 percent increase from 2022.

Record High

Psychological abuse accounted for the majority of referrals to child welfare centers, with a record 90,761 children affected. Of these, 52,611 were minors who had witnessed domestic violence within their families.

Physical abuse cases totaled 21,520, while 10,205 children were reported as victims of neglect or abandonment. Sexual abuse was reported in 320 cases. Among the cases that led to criminal investigations, 1,903 involved physical abuse, 372 involved sexual abuse, 65 were related to psychological abuse, and 45 were cases of neglect or abandonment.

Despite the rise in abuse reports and investigations, child abuse-related deaths reached a record low in 2023, with 28 fatalities—a significant decrease from the peak of 111 deaths recorded in 2006.

In addition to child abuse, Japan also saw an increase in stalking consultations, which rose for the first time in six years to 19,843 cases.

Prohibition orders related to stalking hit a record high of 1,963, surpassing the number of initial warnings issued since the revised stalking control law came into effect in 2017.

This legislative change allowed authorities to issue more serious prohibition orders more swiftly by bypassing initial warnings.

Domestic violence consultations also increased by 4.9 percent from the previous year, reaching 88,619 cases. Women accounted for 70.5 percent of these victims, while men made up 29.5 percent.

The proportion of male victims has risen steadily from 21.7 percent in 2019, which officials attribute to a reduction in barriers for men seeking help.

Social Phenomenon

In a striking incident in 2018, Yua Funato was found dead in her Tokyo apartment writing a note saying: “Please forgive me.”

The circumstances surrounding her death paint a grim picture: Yua was beaten by her father, starved by her mother, and ultimately died from sepsis, a result of severe malnutrition and untreated pneumonia.

Reports from the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reveal a harrowing routine of abuse. Yua was forced by her mother to practice writing Japanese characters at 4 a.m. every day, with mistakes met by brutal punishments. These often included being made to sit for hours on the freezing concrete veranda of their apartment.

The abuse was systematic, with Yua's father inflicting blows on parts of her body where bruises would be hidden—on her upper thighs and back—while her mother deprived her of food.

Verbal abuse accompanied the physical torment, with Yua being told she was unwanted, unloved, and that she should never have been born. Forced to sleep in a small, unheated room, isolated from her parents and younger brother, Yua's life was one of relentless cruelty.

At the time of her death, she weighed 8 kilograms less than the average five-year-old, and her digestive system was clogged with vomit.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abe acknowledged that child abuse "cannot be overlooked,” but the laws currently applied in Japan seem inadequate.

Japan's child consultation centers—tellingly named "consultation" rather than "welfare" centers—are stuck by an outdated system that prioritizes parental rights over child welfare.

Despite Yua's cries for help, social workers primarily engaged with her parents, asking the absurdly ineffective question, "Are you abusing your child?" In Yua's case, the parents were merely cautioned and invited to a seminar designed to help them become better caregivers—a seminar they never attended.

The stark reality is that Yua's case is not an isolated incident. In 2016, Japan reported over 100,000 cases of child abuse, a staggering increase from the 1,000 cases reported in 1990.

By comparison, the United States, with a much larger population, reported around 67,000 cases.

Before Yua, there were other children—Riku, Takumu, and many more—who suffered similarly tragic fates at the hands of their parents. Despite government promises to build more daycare facilities and prioritize families, Japan remains a difficult place for children.

Systemic Problems

While daycare availability is one issue, the public school system, once lauded as the cornerstone of a superior education system, is now plagued by problems.

Bullying is rampant, and overworked, underpaid teachers are often too exhausted to notice when a child arrives at school with bruises or has gone days without a proper meal.

As the media frequently reminds us, one in six Japanese children live in poverty, often attending school on an empty stomach if they attend at all.

For children fortunate enough to grow up in stable households, life in Japan often comes with the immense pressure to succeed academically—a relentless pursuit that begins as early as second grade.

Many young students are enrolled in schools, preparing for entrance exams that serve as the gateway to prestigious universities, which, in turn, promise the security of a well-paying job years down the line.

Primary school summers in Japan offer just over a month of vacation, heavily burdened by piles of homework due by September 1st.

School lunches, often served on austere, prison-like tin trays, are barely child-friendly. At home, fathers would return on the last train, worn down by the day’s work, while mothers were equally exhausted from managing household chores and childcare.

As challenging as a typical Japanese childhood can be, it pales in comparison to the horrors endured by children like Yua Funato and the tens of thousands of others suffering from abuse daily.

Some commentators have pointed to the lack of social workers as a significant issue. Indeed, each time a child dies from abuse, the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Labor issues a statement citing labor shortages as the primary problem in the social services sector.

In Yua’s case, the social workers assigned to her were similarly overwhelmed, leading to negligence.

Compounding this failure is the overcrowded state of Japan’s child abuse facilities, where, in all but the most extreme circumstances, victims are often returned to their abusive parents, perpetuating the cycle of violence. Yua herself spent three months in a child care center in Kagawa, only to be sent back home.

For some children, family is the most terrifying aspect of their lives. If Yua had been permanently separated from her parents, she might still be alive today. 

Yet, Japanese tradition holds that families must remain intact, and what happens within the family is considered inviolable.

More than addressing labor shortages or offering parental seminars, Japan must confront the deeper issue of family dysfunction and the cultural norms that allow such tragedies to continue.

Japan’s efforts to combat child abuse are notably weaker than those in many Western countries.

Japan must critically examine its child protection system to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.