A Japanese non-profit group helping sexual abuse victims is urging the government not to pardon child sex offenders.
Members of the group met Justice Minister Masako Mori on Thursday to make the request in connection with the pardons the government granted to mark Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony last year.
On November 26, V6 member Nagano Hiroshi's wife, actress Shiraishi Miho (41) announced the birth of their second child via her official blog.
On November 18, talento Yanagihara Kanako (33) announced the birth of her first child.
Through her agency's official website, she reported, "A healthy baby girl was born. Both myself and baby are healthy." She expressed, "During my pregnancy, I went on maternity leave a little early. Thankfully, I was able to relax and face my mind and body, which overall led to my safe delivery. To people at work who cooperated with me and to everyone who supported me, thank you very much."
On November 9, former AKB48 member Kawaei Rina announced that her first child has been born.
Japan's Justice Ministry says reported crime is decreasing, but child abuse and domestic violence are on the rise.
The ministry's white paper on crime says the police dealt with about 817,000 criminal offences in 2018, the lowest figure since World War Two. The number has fallen for 16 years in a row after hitting a peak in 2002.
Japan's education ministry says 332 school children committed suicide in the year through March, the highest number since records began in 1988.
The ministry's survey covered elementary, junior high and high schools across Japan. The number of suicides rose by 82 from the previous year.
A 4-year-old girl who died after a suspected assault case in Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan was often seen walking alone and uncared for on the streets long before her death.
Shun Hiwatashi, boyfriend of Riara Otsuka's mother, was arrested on suspicion of hitting the girl in the head last week. The 21-year-old construction worker lived with the mother and the girl in the city of Izumi.
New government figures show child consultation centers across Japan handled a record number of child abuse cases last fiscal year, which ended in March.
Officials of the welfare ministry say the number of reported cases was 159,850 -- an increase of about 26,000 from the previous year. The statistics cover children under 18.
May 5 is Children's Day in Japan. But the number of children in the country has declined for 38 straight years since 1982, and is now at an all-time-low.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs says the number of children under 15 years old totaled 15.33 million as of April 1 -- 7.85 million boys and 7.48 million girls.
Japan's government has approved revisions to its child abuse prevention law following a series of high-profile abuse cases in which victims have died.
The draft bill, approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, bans parents from physically punishing children.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has instructed cabinet ministers to use all available means to eradicate child abuse.
Abe told a meeting of relevant ministers on Tuesday that reports of child abuse are rising every year.
Cases of child abuse and the number of abused children both hit record highs in Japan last year.
The National Police Agency says there were 1,380 cases of child abuse nationwide last year involving arrests or questioning. The number of victims under 18 totaled 1,394.
A Japanese non-profit organization says it has received twice the usual number of email inquiries in relation to child abuse since police said domestic abuse is suspected in the death of a girl in Chiba Prefecture.
Child Abuse Prevention Network Aichi, or CAPNA, has been receiving an average of more than seven inquiries a day since police arrested the father of 10-year-old Mia Kurihara last month.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has ordered emergency checks within a month into cases of suspected child abuse to confirm children's safety.
In a meeting of relevant Cabinet ministers on Friday, Abe ordered checks into all cases of possible abuse currently being handled by child welfare centers.