Chapter 3    Policies for Youths with Specific Circumstances

Section 1    Supporting youth with disabilities

(Supporting youth with disabilities)

• In February 2004, the Central Council for Education organized the special committee for improving education for the disabled requiring special care, aiming to promote discussions for better systems for such education. The committee made an interim report in December of the same year, suggesting that (1) "Special Support Education" should ensure appropriate instructions and necessary support to help disabled students develop capabilities for independence and increase participation in the society, (2) existing schools for the blind, deaf or disabled should be reformed (into tentatively-called "special support school") because dealings with severely handicapped students or those suffering multiple handicaps become urgent, and (3) institutional reforms should be conducted on support systems for handicapped students, including those suffering learning disabilities in elementary and junior high schools. Currently, deliberations are underway on how to respond to this interim report including the collection of opinions on the report.

(Supporting youth with Learning Disabilities (LD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD))

• The 161st extraordinary session of the Diet passed the Law for the Assistance of Persons with Developmental Disabilities (Law No.167 of 2004). This law, which is based on a bill submitted by a Diet member, intends to clarify responsibilities of the nation, government and local public organizations for the purpose of establishing community-wide support system and raising people's understanding of developmental disabilities, such as Learning Disabilities (LD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The law has been enforced since April 1, 2005.
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has been promoting measures for facilitating early detection of those children suffering autism, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), LD (learning disabilities) and other developmental disabilities, through improvement of public growth/health checkup for babies and infants, so that households and schools can be well-prepared for appropriate assistance of those children and obtain necessary consultation and instructions.
• The Law for the Assistance of Persons with Developmental Disabilities specifies establishment of appropriate support systems for those children. MEXT is going to further promote support system improvement in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare so that comprehensive, sufficient assistance will be ensured.

Section 2    Supporting Single-Parent Families

(Single-parent families)

• Based on the 'Revised Welfare Law for the Single-Parent' (Law No. 119 of 2002) which was enforced in April 2003, and the act concerning special assistance for working mothers in a fatherless household (Law No.126 of 2003) which has been in force since August 2003, the following comprehensive assistance measures are being implemented for ensuring financial independence of those mothers: 1) projects for short-term support for raising children, measures for child raising, and daily living assistance, and (2) measures for employment support such as projects for employment of single-parents, independence support centers, and benefits for the independence of single-parent families. Also, assistance for job seeking is provided so that mothers in fatherless households can get a job that does not obstruct their childrearing environment and is suitable for their aptitude and ability.

(Economically-challenged families)

• Since April 2005, households having senior high school students and qualified for public assistance for livelihood protection have been included in qualified recipients of financial aid for children's school education. This intends to secure financial independence of those households for their children.

Section 3    Addressing Maladjustment to Society, including Juvenile Delinquency

(Measures against juvenile delinquency)

• In response to the National Youth Development Policy of the government, and for the purpose of ensuring appropriate counteractions against recent serious conditions of juvenile delinquency, a bill for partial amendment of the Juveniles Law and relevant laws has been submitted to the 162nd session of the Diet. This bill demands; (1) development of laws so police are able to investigate those juvenile offenders under 14 years old who are involved in an illegal act or are judged to be at risk of being involved in any illegal act in the future, (2) introduction of a new provision that could allow probation treatment of a juvenile offender by sending him/her to a juvenile training school even when he/she has not reached the age of 14 years provided that a family court judges it necessary to implement such probation, (3) stipulation of a provision on treatment of those under probation who fail to observe rules and stipulation of a provision that allows superintendents of juvenile training schools or directors of probation offices to give instructions or advice to parents or guardians of those juveniles, and (4) introduction of court-appointed attendants when judged to be necessary by the court.
• In September 2004, the Division Manager Level Committee on Measures against Juvenile Delinquency, established by the government, finalized plans for the establishment of a society-wide support system for juveniles through cooperation with relevant organizations, which summarizes the fundamental ideas for the support system for youths. The Division Manager Level Committee on Measures against Juvenile Delinquency informs local public organizations of the report and has been making efforts to promote joint effort among relevant organizations.

(Truancy, social withdrawal, and eating disorders)

• In response to the recommendations presented in the report on future measures for dealing with truancy, which was released in March 2003, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will create and distribute guidance material that introduces the specific teaching methods to be adopted in schools and actual case examples. In addition, the Ministry will improve the core systems for implementing measures against truancy (schooling support centers) and promote the Schooling Support Network project, which aims to establish a community-based support system through collaboration of schools, homes, and related organizations.
• There are assistance programs for those youths under the status of long-term truancy or social withdrawal. Those programs include trial activities, where those youths experience labor at a workshop or join group activities in the natural environment or other places, so that they can develop the ability and sense of social independence, participation in the society and motivation for the future.

Section 4    Damage prevention and protection of youth

(Measures to prevent child abuse)

• Today we see serious child abuse incidents occur one after another, some of which claim precious lives of children. Children's consultation centers nationwide receive increasing numbers of child abuse reports. During fiscal 2003, the centers received a total of 26,569 reports on child abuse, which is more than twice the annual volume registered shortly before the enforcement of the Child Abuse Prevention Law. We need to take immediate action against this trend of increasing child abuse cases by making society-wide efforts to prevent them.
• As for the countermeasures against child abuse, relevant ministries and agencies of the government have been working on establishment of comprehensive aid programs that ensure continuous support of victims from crime prevention to assistance of victims in recovering self-reliance. Also, efforts have been made for effective implementation of new protective systems introduced in response to the amendment of the Child Abuse Prevention Law and the Child Welfare Law.

(Measures against crimes that harm the welfare of youth)

• Immediate and appropriate countermeasures are required against human trafficking for sexual exploitation or trafficking of human internal organs, since those crimes, often targeting children or women, not only constitute serious infringement of human rights but also inflict serious physical and mental pain on the victims, who cannot recover easily. For humanitarian reasons and because of involvement of international crime syndicates, any delay of implementation of countermeasures should be avoided, and the government organized a liaison conference among relevant ministries and agencies for deliberation of countermeasures against trafficking of human beings. This conference, established inside the Cabinet in April 2004, and headed by an Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary, established in December the action plan against trafficking of human beings. The action plan indicates comprehensive measures for the prevention and eradication of this crime and protection of victims, and was submitted to the ministerial conference for anti-crime measures in December 2004, where they agreed to make government-wide joint efforts to promote those countermeasures specified in the action plan.

(Other measures against crimes)

• In recent years, crimes against children, including assaults resulting in bodily injury, sex crimes and kidnapping have occurred frequently. Not only the notorious kidnapping/murder case of fiscal 2004 but also other crimes targeting children have given rise to strong fears and anxiety in the public. Under such circumstances, the government has been promoting community-level crime prevention measures in cooperation with relevant ministries and agencies, including increased patrols by police and installation of emergency report transmitters on streets near schools and in parks that allow children to report directly to police in the event of an emergency.
  During fiscal 2005, the government began implementation of a model project for improving regional security centers for local residents, where voluntary crime prevention activities are to be planned and operated by communities. In addition, since June 2005, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Justice have been jointly working on a program which allows people to share information regarding the whereabouts of those who committed violent sexual crimes against children, for the purpose of preventing repeated crime by those convicts.

Section 5    Supporting youth working under disadvantageous conditions in the labor market

(Job-finding support for dropouts from high schools and young unemployed people)

• Combining practical training at companies and classroom lectures at educational institutions as a new human development system, a Japanese version of a dual system has been introduced in fiscal 2004 to foster workforce competency. Fiscal 2005 plans include further improvement and extensive utilization of this Japanese-style dual system, including the introduction of a trial course designed for job-seeking university graduates and the activities to encourage private businesses and educational/training institutions to promote their commitment to the dual system. In addition, job counselors for youths are being educated at Universities of Professional Ability Development (those counselors are professional advisors on career decision making and planning for working life), and regional job consultation services are being provided so that people can receive professional advice easily at existing municipal facilities.