Japan has ranked 20th out of 38 in a UNICEF report on the well-being of children in the world's richest countries.
In the report released on Thursday, UNICEF evaluated the well-being of children of high income countries that are members of the OECD or the EU. The result was based on three dimensions: mental well-being, physical health and skills for life.
May 5 is Children's Day in Japan.
The number of children in the country has declined every year since 1982, and is now at an all-time low.
On April 1, former AKB48 member and actress Shinoda Mariko (34) announced that she gave birth to her first child.
Via her Instagram and Twitter accounts, Shinoda reported, "I apologize for making a personal announcement during this time, but I gave birth to a healthy baby girl the other day. Thankfully, both myself and baby are doing well."
A court in Japan has sentenced a man to 16 years in prison for the fatal abuse of his 10-year-old daughter.
The Chiba district court on Thursday handed down the prison term to Yuichiro Kurihara for inflicting injuries to his daughter Mia that resulted in her death.
It's been reported that Becky (36) gave birth to her first child early this month. Her agency confirmed the reports after an interview with ORICON STYLE. The sex and birthdate of her baby have not been revealed.
Becky married baseball coach Kataoka Yasuyuki (37) in January of last year. Her pregnancy was announced last November.
On March 10, talento Yasuda Misako (37) updated her Instagram account and announced that she had given birth to her second child on February 23. In addition, she revealed that she left her agency last year as her contract had expired.
Ride-on vehicles, or Power Wheels as many know them, are a perfect way for young children to experience driving and cars for the first time. Unfortunately, certain congenital disorders can prevent some children from having that from experience. Lexus, in collaboration with Givewith and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation (CPF), wanted to help reduce the barrier of access to fun mobility, and has created an LX ride-on specifically customized for a girl with cerebral palsy.
Six-year-old Finley Smallwood has the most common motor disorder that affects children, cerebral palsy. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cerebral palsy is "a group of disorders that affect a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture." Because of this, she is unable to use ride-on vehicles the way they are currently built. Lexus was inspired by Finley to design and develop solutions that could get here into a car.
Talent Ogura Yuko (36), better known as "Yukorin," has announced that she is pregnant with her third child.
On Instagram, she announced, "It's personal, but I have been blessed with my third child. I have safely entered my stable period, and my health has settled down, so I would like to make this announcement to everybody."
It's been reported that actress Takeuchi Yuko (39) has given birth to her second child.
According to reports, Takeuchi gave birth to a baby boy at the end of January. Both mother and baby are in healthy condition.
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.