Part 1    Present State of Youth in Japan

Chapter 1    Youth Population

Section 1    Present State and Trends of the Youth Population

As of October 1, 2005, the total national population was 127,757,000, of which the youth population (aged 0 to 29) was 40,180,000, 31.5% of the national total.
The youth population has been steadily decreasing since 1975 with the proportion of the total national population dropping below 50% in 1974, and continuing to decrease in subsequent years. (Figure 1)

Figure 1    Youth Population and Ratio to National Total

Section 2    Youth Population

(Birth Rate)

Since 1991, there were fluctuations in the number of new born babies until 2001, when the number started to drop every year. In 2003, the number reached 1,123,610. Total fertility rates (sum of the live birth rates by age for women aged 15 to 49; the number of children born to a woman over the course of her lifetime on the assumption that she delivers babies at the live birth rate by age in that year) also have been on a downward trend except for those in their late fifties, reaching 1.29 in 2003. (Figure 2)

Figure 2    Year-by-year Shift of Number of New Born Babies and Total Fertility Rates

(Marriage)

The average age for first marriages in Japan is 29.4 years old for males, and 27.6 for females, and has been on an upward trend for both males and females. The difference in such average age between males and females has been narrowing. (Figure 3)

Figure 3    Average Age for First Marriage

Chapter 2    Youth Health and Safety

Section 1    Health Status of Youths

(Physique of Youths)

Table 1 shows the national average height, weight and seated height by age, of pupils and students in elementary schools, lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools, and secondary schools in fiscal 2005. As a whole, the values appear to remaining about the same for average height, weight and seated height for both boys and girls.

Table 1    Average Height, Weight and Seated Height by Age(FY2004 and FY2005)

(Physical Fitness of Youths)

Looking at basic fitness levels tested through running (50 m dash and distance run), jumping (standing long jump) and throwing (softball or handball) as well as grip strength, there were no remarkable differences in some capacities by age in certain stages of development. But in most stages, there were declining trends in all capacities. (Table 2)

Table 2    Results (Average) of Physical Fitness Test by Age

(Nutrition)

The nutritional intake of young people is generally well-balanced, but at an individual level there are emerging problems such as excessive or imbalanced intake. Another new dietary problem among youths is the habitual omission of meals. (Table 3)

Table 3    "Omission of Meals

(Diseases)

Looking at the diseases and defects among children that have led to consultations with doctors by academic level in fiscal 2004, the highest consultation rate was recorded for "cavities." Those with cavities (including those who completed treatment) exceeded 70% at elementary and senior high schools, but the percentage has been declining every year. The second highest was "unaided vision under 20/20," and nearsightedness among students increased with age. Those aged between 15 and 24 years tend to have a relatively higher chance to contract sexually transmitted disease/infection when compared to other age groups. As for HIV infections, it was found nearly 35% of all newly-reported HIV patients are in the younger age groups under the age of 20.

Section 2    Youth Safety

(Overview of Accidental Death)

The number of youth deaths (aged 0 to 29) from accidents in 2005 was 3,041, 20.7% of all deaths in the same age group. The percentage of accidental deaths was high in all age groups, particularly in the 15 to 19 age group, in which about 35% of the total deaths were found to be accidental. (Figures for 2005 are approximate figures.)

(Traffic Accidents)

The number of traffic accidents in 2005 was 933,828, down 18,363 (1.9%) from the previous year. The number of deaths from traffic accidents was 6,871, and that from injuries was 1,156,633, down 487 (6.6%) and down 26,487 (2.2%) from the previous year, respectively. Among young people aged 0 to 24, the number of deaths was 1,011, 14.7% of all deaths and down 12.2% from the previous year. The number of youth injuries was 307,717, 26.6% of all injuries and down 4.3% from the previous year.

(Casualties in School Jurisdictions)

Data of casualty mutual benefits for fiscal 2005 (payment of medical bills, disability benefits, death benefits), paid by National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health, showed that the following casualties (injuries, sickness, disabilities or death) occurred among pupils and students in school jurisdictions (in regular classes and special activities, in extra lessons, during break time, and going to/leaving school). The percentages of medical-insurance benefits for injuries/sickness were highest for Lower secondary schools at 20.14%, followed by upper secondary schools (full-time schools) at 14.55%, and elementary schools at 10.19%. The number of cases receiving disability benefits and death benefits was highest for upper secondary schools (full-time schools).

Section 3    Victimization by Crime and Abuse

(Victimization by Crime)

The number of reported cases of penal code offenses in which juveniles (under the age of 20) were victimized in 2005 was 326,042, down 30,384 (8.5%) from the previous year. By type of offense, victims of felony offenses numbered 1,668, and those of violent offenses numbered 18,039. When compared with the previous year, the number of felony offenses and violent offenses decreased by 267 (or 13.8%) and 2,449 (or 12.0%) respectively. (Table 4, Figure 4)
Although the number of juveniles who were victims of sexual offenses (rape and indecent assault) was 5,845 and has decreased by 646 or 10.0% from the previous year, it must be admitted that the victimization of youths by this kind of crime is still in a serious condition.
In 2005, 7,627 juveniles, increased by 171 (2.3%) over the previous year, were victimized in welfare-related offenses, such as violation of the Law For Punishing Acts Related to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and for Protecting Children (Law No.52 of 1999, hereinafter called the "Anti-Child Prostitution and Pornography Law"), the Child Welfare Law and the Juvenile Protection Ordinance. By academic level, most of the victims were upper secondary students, with the number reaching 2,758 (36.2%), followed by lower secondary school students.
The number of juveniles victimized by offenses related to "online dating sites" in 2005 was 1,082, decrease by 38 (3.4%) from the previous year. By type of offense, most of them were victimized by violations of the Anti-Child Prostitution and Pornography Law at 562 (51.9%), followed by violations of the Juvenile Protection Ordinance. The number of juveniles victimized by felony offenses such as homicide and rape was 34, having increased nearly 4.9 times from 2000 when the statistics were first taken.

Table 4    Number of Juvenile Victims in Cases Reported for Penal Code Offenses
(2003 and 2004)

Figure 4    Trends in the Number of Juvenile Victims in Cases Reported for Penal Code Offenses (1996-2005)

(Child Abuse)

The issue of child abuse is still a serious social concern that should be promptly solved by society as a whole. The number of cases of consultation for child abuse provided by Child Guidance Centers has been increasing rapidly every year, reaching 33,408 in fiscal 2004. (Table 5)
More specifically, physical violence had the largest share at 44.5%, followed by neglect at 36.7%, psychological abuse and sexual abuse.
The number of child abuse cases investigated by the police in 2005 was 222, and 242 persons were arrested. The number of victimized children was 229, of which 38 (16.6%) were dead at the time of the arrests.

Table 5    Number of Consultations Given for Child Abuse

Chapter 3    Youth Education

Section 1    School Education Population (Number of Young People in School Education)

(Population by Category)

As of May 1, 2004, the number of young people attending educational establishments from kindergarten to university level ("school education population"), was 20,514,000 (10,640,000 males and 9,873,000 females), representing 16.1% of the total population. (Table 6)

(1) Kindergarten Education
The number of kindergarteners in fiscal 2004 was 1,753,000 (889,000 males and 864,000 females) down 7,000 from the previous year.
(2) Compulsory Education
The number of elementary school children in fiscal 2004 was 7,201,000, down 26,000 from the previous year, recording the lowest level since the start of the Basic Survey on Schools (1948).
The number of junior high school students was 3,664,000, down by 85,000 from the previous year.
(3) Senior High School Education
The number of senior high school students in fiscal 2004 was 3,719,000 (1,885,000 males and 1,834,000 females), down 91,000 from the previous year
(4) Higher Education
The number of university students was 2,809,000 (1,708,000 males and 1,101,000 females), up 5,000 from the previous year, recording the highest level ever. The number of junior college students was 234,000 (30,000 males and 204,000 females), down 16,000 from the previous year.
The number of graduate school students was 163,000 master's students (115,000 males and 48,000 females), 73,000 students were in doctorate courses (52,000 males and 21,000 females), and 8,000 were professional degree students (6,000 males and 2,000 females).
The rate of advancement to junior colleges and universities (the ratio obtained by dividing the number of enrollments at university departments and regular classes at junior college in the current year by the number of junior school students who graduated three years earlier) was 49.9% in fiscal 2004. By gender, it was 51.1% for males (49.3% for university and 1.8% for junior college) and 48.7% for females (35.2% for university and 13.5% for junior college). The female advancement rate had exceeded that of males from 1989 to 1999, but fell below the male figure in 2000. (Figure 5)
(5) Education for handicapped children requiring special support
There are 99,000 handicapped children in the stage of kindergarten education, compulsory education or senior high school education who are enrolled at schools for the blind, the deaf or the disabled. There are 9,100 students enrolled in special classes for the handicapped in regular elementary or junior high schools. The number of handicapped children enrolled in correspondence courses is 36,000. The total of those three groups is 225,000, of which 179,000 children are in the stage of compulsory education. They account for 1.6% of the total juvenile population in the same stage.
(6) Specialized training colleges and miscellaneous schools
The number of students enrolled in specialized training colleges increased by 6,000 from the previous year to reach 792,000. Of those, 88.0% or 697,000 students are enrolled in special courses designed for those who graduated from senior high school or have an equal level of academic ability.
The number of students enrolled in miscellaneous schools decreased by 11,000 from the previous year to 178,000.

*Due to the rounding of numbers the sum of male and female students and the total number of students may not correspond.

Table 6    Number of Schools and Students (As of May 1, 2005)

Figure 5    Rate of Advancement to Universities and Junior Colleges(1960 - 2005)

Section 2    Improvement of School Education Conditions

(School Education Expenditure)

The total amount of education expenditure by national and local governments for school education and those by school founders such as school juridical organizations ("school education expenditure") in fiscal 2003 was 18.9103 trillion yen.
By category, elementary schools had the highest share with 34.3% (6.4798 trillion yen), followed by universities, junior colleges and colleges of technology (20.5%, 3.8742 trillion yen), lower secondary schools (19.2%, 3.6398 trillion yen), upper secondary schools (18.5%, 3.5075 trillion yen), schools for the deaf, the blind or the other disabled (4.5%, 846.6 billion yen), kindergartens (2.6%, 487.9 billion yen), and specialized training colleges and miscellaneous schools (0.4%, 74.3 billion yen).

Chapter 4    Youth Labor

Section 1    Current status of youth workforce., etc.

Section 2    Youth Employment

(Overview of Working Status)

Section 3    Employment of New Graduates

(Employment of Junior High Graduates)

(Employment of Senior High Graduates)

(Employment of Graduates from Universities, Junior Colleges and Colleges of Technology)

(Youth Unemployment)

Figure 6    Unemployment Rate of Young People (1989 - 2005)

Section 4    Job-Leaving Ratio

(Job Leaving of New Graduates)

It follows that a higher percentage of both lower secondary and upper secondary school graduates left their jobs in their first year, and among lower secondary school graduates in particular, the job-leaving rate in the first year was nearly 50%. Within three years of starting employment, more than 70% of all lower secondary school graduates, and nearly 50% of upper secondary graduates, and more than 30% of university graduates left their jobs.

Section 5    Working Conditions

(Wages)

The average normal salary (wages) for June 2004 was 337,800 yen for males and 222,500 yen for females. As for young workers, it was 143,400 yen for males under 18, 167,200 yen for those aged 18 to 19, 197,300 yen for those aged 20 to 24, and 239,300 yen for those aged 25 to 29. As for female workers, it was 122,100 yen for those under 18, 154,200 yen for those aged 18 to 19, 185,100 yen for those aged 20 to 24, and 210,600 yen for those aged 25 to 29.

(Starting Salaries)

As for starting salaries of new graduates in March 2005 by academic level, for male workers it was 221,000 yen for those with master's degree, 196,700 yen for university graduates, 170,300 yen for college of technology and junior college graduates, and 155,700 yen for upper secondary school graduates. As for female workers, it was 216,600 yen for those with master's degree, 189,300 yen for university graduates, 164,200 yen for college of technology and junior college graduates, and 148,000 yen for upper secondary school graduates.

Chapter 5    Juvenile Delinquency and Other Behavioral Problems

Section 1    Juvenile Penal Code Offenders

(Overview)

    Table 7 shows the trends of the number of juvenile delinquencies investigated by the police in the past 10 years. The number of juveniles who committed penal code offences in 2004 was 134,847 (down 9,557 (6.6%) over the previous year). The ratio to youth population (the number of juveniles arrested per 1,000 persons of the same age group) was 16.8 (down 0.7). The percentage of juveniles to all those arrested for penal code offences was 34.7%, down 3.3 points from the previous year.
    Figure 7 shows the trends in the number of juveniles arrested for penal code offences and their ratio to the population since 1949 when the current Juvenile Law was enacted.

Table 7    Trends in Number of Juveniles Arrested and Given Guidance (1996-2005)

Figure 7    Unemployment Rate of Young People (1989 - 2005)

Section2    Violation of the Road Traffic Law

(Professional (Gross)Negligence Resulting in Death or Bodily Injury in Traffic Accidents)

    The number of juveniles arrested for professional (gross) negligence resulting in death or bodily injury in traffic accidents in 2005 was 34,717, down 3,308 (7.5%) from the previous year.

(Violation of the Road Traffic Law)

    The number of juveniles arrested for driving-related violations in 2005, such as unlicensed driving and driving over the maximum speed limit was 455,634, down 35,492 (7.2%) from the previous year.

Section 3    Problem Behavior

(Drug Abuse)

    In 2005, 427 juveniles were arrested for offenses involving stimulant drugs, up 39 (10.1%) from the previous year, and 1,368 for abusing thinners, down 837 (38.0%) from the previous year. Moreover, 174 juveniles were arrested for offenses involving cannabis, down 47 (21.3%) from the previous year. The number of juvenile delinquents arrested for illegal abuse of synthetic narcotics such as MDMA decreased by 4 (6.0%) from the previous year to reach 63 persons. Among drug-related offenses committed by juveniles, abusing thinners still accounted for the majority. (Table 8)

Table 8    Juveniles Arrested for Drug Abuse such as stimulant drugs, cannabis and thinners, etc. by Academic Background (2004 and 2005)

(Felony and Violent Delinquency)

    In 2005, 1,441 juveniles were arrested for felony offenses, down 143 (9.0%) from the previous year. By type, the number of juveniles arrested for robbery was the largest with 1,146, but this was a decrease by 127 (10.0%) from the previous year. The numbers of juveniles arrested for homicide increased by 10 (17.5%) while those for rape decreased by 9 (6.0%) from the previous year.
    The number of juvenile penal code offenders arrested by the police for violent crimes in 2005 was 10,458, down 981 (8.6%) from the previous year. (Figure 8)

Figure 8    Number of Juveniles Arrested for Felony and Violent Offenses (1996-2005)

(Bullying)

    In fiscal 2004, the number of bullying cases reported from public elementary, lower secondary or upper secondary schools as well as from schools for the blind, the deaf or the other disabled decreased compared to the previous year when there was an increase for the first time in the past eight years.
    In 2005, the police dealt with 165 cases that originated from bullying, and charged or gave guidance to 326 juveniles (juvenile delinquents and juvenile offenders), resulting in 4 more cases (up 2.5%) and 10 more juveniles (up 3.2%) from the previous year.

(School Violence)

    In fiscal 2004, the number of violent acts in schools was 1,890 cases in 665 elementary schools (2.9% of all elementary schools), 23,110 cases in 3,366 lower secondary schools (32.6% of all lower secondary schools), and 5,022 cases in 1,734 upper secondary schools (42.4% of all). The number of violent acts that occurred out of school was 210 cases in 166 elementary schools (0.7% of all), 2,874 in 1,643 lower secondary schools (15.9% of all), and 916 in 682 upper secondary schools (16.7% of all).

(Domestic Violence)

    In 2005, 1,275 cases of domestic violence by juveniles were reported by the police through consultations with children and guidance activities, up 89 (7.5%) from the previous year. Mothers were the major victims.

(Misbehavior)

    In 2005, 1,367,351 juveniles were given guidance by the police as a result of their misbehavior (those under 20 who were not juvenile delinquents but were given guidance by the police for drinking, smoking or running away from home). By type, loitering at night and smoking accounted for the majority of cases.

(Truancy)

    In fiscal 2004, the number of students who were absent from school for 30 days or more was 23,318 in elementary schools and 100,040 in lower secondary schools, down 3.2% and 2.1% from the previous year, respectively. (Table 9)

Table 9    Number of Pupils/Students Not Attending Schools (Truants) (Period between 1995 to FY2004)

Topical news

Attaining Social Independence
- Quest to find possibilities -

• In light of the recent increase in the number of young people who can be characterized as being socially maladjusted and slow to acquire social independence, the National Youth Development Policy specifies "assistance for social independence" as a priority policy to be intensively promoted for all ages of the youth population. Also, the Measures for the Society with a Declining Birthrate suggests that the government and all members of the society should promote combined efforts to change the conditions which hamper young people's social independence, in order to reverse the tendency of declining birthrate.
• As young people acquire social independence, it is important that rich sense of humanity be cultivated in them through participation in social activities. The following show some examples of good practices for such social activities designed for young people according to their respective development stages as learn-through-participation programs.

1.  Significance of actual experiences and challenges to seek possibilities

• Results of the survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) show that children's activities mainly take place indoors today, while parents and guardians consider it important for their children to have opportunities to interact with people having different views or of different ages, learn regional history and culture and to participate in outdoor activities in nature.

2.  Outdoor activities in nature designed for elementary school aged children - "Our nine day adventure" program

• The Kibi National Youth Outdoor Learning Center in Okayama Prefecture carried out a long-stay camp program designed for third and fourth graders, and thirty children participated in this program. The itinerary of the camp was well designed to suit the level of the participants' abilities, with the leeway to allow participants to fail. The goal was "to train children to be capable of taking care of themselves and to act voluntarily" and "to cultivate the attitude of cooperation with others and appreciation of other people's good aspects" through activities in nature.

3.  Social experiences during adolescence

(1)  Child-care experience

    Samekawa Junior High School, a municipal school in the Village of Samekawa, Fukushima Prefecture, has introduced "hometown lessons" (as part of comprehensive learning programs), where students visit local welfare institutions for vocational aid and also visit nursery schools to interact with the young children there by taking of and playing with them.
    Also, through cooperation between elementary and lower secondary schools in the Village of Samekawa, the "learning programs during adolescence to promote close personal relationships" have been carried out jointly with the civil welfare section of the municipal government. Under those programs, sixth graders participate in a "baby care" event where they learn how to amuse or feed babies with the support of their parents, guardians, etc., and first year lower secondary school students participate in a "learn about child rearing" event where they try to change diapers or simulate the experience of being a pregnant woman under the guidance of midwives or health nurses. Those programs have been successful in cultivating kinder attitudes in children.

(2)  The "Career Start Week" project

  Four lower secondary schools in Oga City, Akita Prefecture were designated as model schools to implement a "project of practical carrier education" for fiscal year 2005, incorporated with the "Career Start Week (5-day workplace experience)" project. Among those schools, Iriai Junior High School has been promoting systematically-designed career education, where two sessions of a "short-term program for workplace experience" take place in advance of the five-day "Career Start Week" (where children have work experiences at a welfare facility or participate in a wide-range of activities to build human relationships with people of different ages), with the aim of complementing the project by introducing preliminary guidance and post-project lessons. This project has been successful in cultivating not only labor and vocational motivation but also a richer sense of humanity in children.

4.  Social (vocational) experiences for young adults - Internship

• Kyoto Sangyo University has established a "cooperative education" scheme, which is an evolution of the "internship" concept and consists of university-initiated original career education programs created through cooperation between full-time teachers and university staff and integrated into the University's regular curriculum. This scheme provides students with labor experiences at workplaces as well as learning programs at the campus alternatively and repeatedly, and aims at a functional interlink between those two types of lessons, where the former practical on-site social and vocational experiences help students develop their views of work and to discover the specific abilities actually demanded at workplaces, while the latter campus lessons help them further develop such discoveries.

5.Providing experiences in the society and in nature for young people who have difficulties becoming socially independent

(1);  School of independence for youth

    The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has been implementing a project of "school of independence for youth" which aims to provide underemployed, untrained young people with camp-style social and vocational training programs. Through the three-month camp and communal living experiences participants learn living skills and gain work experience. Specifically, the programs are designed flexible according to the circumstances of the participants and include lessons for the acquisition of the certifications for special skills such as using a personal computer, visits to workplaces, labor activities and volunteering at welfare facilities, etc.

(2)  Program to provide experiences for mentally-stressed young people -"Kangaroo Camp"

    The Iwatesan National Youth Friendship Center carried out a long-stay camp program targeting young people in the later stager of adolescence having a tendency to be socially withdrawn, in order to provide an opportunity for them to recover the ability to live a healthy life mentally and physically by participating in various activities and meeting people. Prior to and following the ten-day camp, an interview-style orientation for children and their parents and a four-day follow-up camp were held respectively. In the camp, experienced staff having special knowledge about camping and counselors specialized in the treatment of truant children were deployed and one-on-one instructions were given to participants. As a result, the positive participation of participants in camp activities was observed.

6.  Promoting combined efforts of relevant organizations and local communities - Activities of the Child-care Support Center

    The activities of the Child-care Support Center in Shimane Prefecture are quite progressive in that comprehensive assistance programs for young people are being carried out continuously with collaboration between prefectural and municipal governments and the combined efforts of police headquarters, health and welfare sections and regional Boards of Education as well as the participation of a large number of civic volunteers including university students.
    It is especially noteworthy that the Center acts as a coordinator of a wide-range of assistance programs such as consultation services, vocational assistance, learning support, etc., provided continuously in cooperation with relevant organizations. The Center also makes efforts to identify the needs of service users including youths and their guardians, and organizes support teams for effective provision of services.

• Case study on Upper-Secondary-School dropouts not adequately supported by conventional safety net mechanisms:

  
  
  University students volunteers provided upper-secondary-school dropouts with educational guidance on learning and living skills, and as a result, those dropouts successfully became upper secondary school students again, by passing the entrance examinations of their target schools.

• Case study on delinquent young people unemployed after graduating from lower secondary school or upper secondary school and prone to loitering late at night, etc.

  
  
  The target group of young people participated in volunteer work to help people with intellectual disabilities at their summer school in cooperation with volunteer organizations for disabled people, etc. As a result, the young people learned the significance of communication and personal relationships.
• Having various learn-through-participation opportunities is meaningful from various perspectives for children to develop social independence. For example, such opportunities help improve their attitudes toward society or occupations, help them to discover the pleasure of learning and using their learning for the benefit of society and also to understand their capabilities and aptitudes.
• Targeting those children who cannot afford such opportunities for any of a variety of reasons including financial difficulties, family environment, etc., schools, governments, local communities and adults around such children should make efforts to facilitate their access to any meaningful experiences.