Child abuse in western nations began to increase from the sixties through the seventies, whereas in Japan we have seen a rapid increase in the past 15 years.
  Article 5 of the Child Abuse Prevention Law and Article 25 of the Child Welfare Law mandate that people notify a municipal child guidance center or welfare office in cases of suspected child abuse or when a child is discovered who needs protection.
  The number of abuse cases reported annually to child guidance centers was between one and two thousand until the mid-1990s, but then increased dramatically around the time the Child Abuse Prevention Law went into effect in 2000. The number of difficult-to-handle cases has also increased, and this is a problem that needs to be urgently addressed by all of society.

  The most common forms of abuse are physical abuse (in 45% of cases) followed by neglect (in 37%). In nearly half of all cases the abused child is pre-school age.

  To prevent child abuse and promote the healthy physical and mental growth of all children so that they can achieve independence, a system of comprehensive and seamless support is needed, from prevention of occurrence to early detection, early handling, protection, support, and follow-up care.
  In addition, given the diverse background factors for the occurrence of abuse, effective countermeasures include building a wide-ranging cooperation system of not only welfare workers, but also local citizens and medical, public health, education, and police organizations, and implementing prevention measures.

  Recent major child abuse prevention measures undertaken by the national government include the following.

1. The Child Abuse Prevention Law has been amended to expand the range of instances in which child abuse must be reported. The amendments also include a revised definition of child abuse and other revisions. (Enacted October 2004.)
2. The Child Welfare Law was made to clearly stipulate the duties of municipalities related to child welfare, including background support for child guidance centers and professional support for cases that are more difficult to handle. Other amendments to this law include the legal designation of abuse prevention networks (local committees to deal with children requiring protection). (Sequential enactment starting in January 2005.)
3. A "Child and Parenting Support Plan" has been adopted, which sets goals for society as we wish it to be in roughly ten years. This will help us to understand how we are progressing toward our aim of being a society in which children grow up healthily, and parents can feel joy in having and raising children. One measure in this plan for intensive implementation within five years is the establishment of abuse prevention networks in all municipalities, with goals such as the introduction in all municipalities of actions to determine the status of all children until four months of age, including health examinations of infants that have not received them
4. An expert committee has been established under the children's division of the Social Security Council, to comprehensively analyze cases of death from child abuse and examine cases of serious child abuse and other matters.
5. Various policies have been established or revised based on these legal amendments, such as the preparation of a manual for dealing with child abuse that will serve as a reference for activities and programs by local authorities and others.

By implementing these measures, we aim to create a society in which no child will lose his or her life to abuse; that is, to eradicate death from child abuse.