Japan delays bill aimed at preventing sex offenders from working with children
Japanese parliament Diet (file photo)
Japan is set to delay a proposed bill aimed at establishing a system that would prevent individuals with a history of sex crime from being employed in professions involving dealing with children.
Japan Times reported that the bill is not expected to be tabled in an extraordinary parliamentary session next month and instead will be delayed until next year.
Japan’s minister in charge of child policies, Ayuko Kato, is expected to announce the delay in the coming days. The decision has been taken in the wake of rising criticism from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leaders over the contents of the bill.
LDP leaders criticise bill
Leaders in the ruling party want to expand the scope of the bill before it is tabled.
According to an LDP panel, formed specially to draft the bill, the bill won’t help establish an effective system if ‘only day nurseries and schools are required to use the system but not cram schools and after-school childcare centres as proposed.’
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LDP members also propose that a time limit should be set for how far back records of sex crimes can be available for the system.
When will the bill be presented now?
As per reports, the bill will now be presented in an ordinary Diet session next year. Till then, efforts will be made to enrich the draft with provisions that the LDP panel has been demanding.
Watch:Japan says workers stole possibly radioactive metal from Fukushima
The proposed bill, often referred to as the "Japanese DBS," resembles the Disclosure and Barring Service certificate used by the British government. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has presented this legislation as a significant policy initiative stemming from the establishment of the Children and Families Agency in April last year.
Challenges
In Japan, the oversight of licensing for teachers and childcare workers falls under different government offices, creating challenges in preventing individuals with a history of sex crimes from switching between professions involving children.
Advocacy from parent and child support groups has been instrumental in pushing for the implementation of this system. The government has been deliberating its response to the issue since 2020 when two men, both registered with a babysitter matching app, were separately arrested for sexually assaulting children under their care.
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