Japan news: This Week in the Press (29 Oct. to 4 Nov.)
Covert
Hi all,
Here are this week's dozen stories from Japanese national newspapers
concerning educational, family and children's issues.
A positive story on homelearning in Thailand is featured this week,
further evidence of the Japanese news media's willingness to consider
home-based learning both overseas and domestically as a viable
educational alternative.
The BIGGEST news this week, however, was the Japanese parliament's
initial approval of a bill that would allow for Japanese children to be
sentenced at a younger age for committing violent crimes (see stories
below). This signifies a major change concerning treatment of so-called
"delinquent juveniles" in Japanese society.
Meanwhile, lost in all the flurry of press coverage over the Juvenile Law
was a Japanese government report (also listed below) stating that the
number of reported child-abuse cases is at an all-time high in Japan --
skyrocketing by 70 percent (yes, you read that figure correctly) since
1999 alone!
In great contrast to the Juvenile Law story, the Japanese national press
almost seemed to go out of its way NOT to report the "increase in child
abuse" story.
Is it just me, or is there a connection here between these two types of
violence that few in media and government want to see?
Brian Covert
(KnoK NEWS)
Osaka, Japan
-------------------------
(1) Asahi Evening News - Sunday, 29 October 2000
A MOVING PICTURE OF LIFE UNDER MOTHER'S DIRECTION
One autumn day a mother sees her daughter off from home with these words:
"Etsuko, I am glad you are living such a happy life, doing the work you
like best and having so many good friends all over the world. I hope you
cherish your work and keep these friendships for the rest of your life."
Mother is 96, daughter 63. Having just wrapped up one of her
international projects, the daughter is heading off to a ceremony and
party to mark the occasion.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1029/asahi102906.html
(2) Asahi Evening News - Sunday, 29 October 2000
STRICTER PENALTIES NOT ALWAYS THE ANSWER
Three years after her son was brutally slain, 55-year-old Takako Takaya
still searches for answers.
....Takaya's son Koichi was 27 when he was savagely beaten and kicked to
death on the night of Sept. 7, 1997, by five junior high school students
in a park in Tokyo's Ota Ward. The beating went on for an hour.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1029/asahi102901.html
(3) Asahi Evening News - Sunday, 29 October 2000
[Editorial] NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OVERHAUL CAN IMPROVE EDUCATION QUALITY
....Repeated attempts have been made to reform universities, but they
have not really helped the institutions shake off their "Japaneseness" --
in the negative sense of the word. The Education Ministry was frustrated
with universities for their refusal to change according to new government
guidelines, while the universities became openly critical of what they
claimed was excessive government interference.
It is time to end this pattern of mutual recrimination that actually
masks [an] unhealthy co-dependence.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1029/asahi102908.html
(4) The Daily Yomiuri - Monday, 30 October 2000
PARENTS IN THAILAND EXPERIMENT WITH DO-IT-YOURSELF EDUCATION
BANGKOK -- Last November, the Thai government introduced a home school
system that allows parents to educate their children at home. Since then,
a total of 50 families, either dissatisfied with the cramming style of
school education, fearing the spread of drugs among students or trying to
keep closer contact between family members, have started teaching their
children at home.
Yutthachai Chalermchai, a 45-year-old magazine editor who works from his
home in Bangkunon, 20 kilometers south of Bangkok, is one of the
pioneering parents. His two sons, 14-year-old Saipan and 12-year-old
Sarntor, decided in May to study at home instead of going to school.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1030cu17.htm
(5) The Japan Times - Wednesday, 1 November 2000
THE RISING PRICE OF KNOWLEDGE
Hikes in university fees have China's students worried
BEIJING -- It should have been party time on the bright summer day
18-year-old Li Junliang was accepted by prestigious Beijing University.
Fewer than one in 10 of China's students places at any of the country's
crowded colleges and universities, let alone the Oxford University of
China. But the acceptance letter sparked little in the way of celebration
in the Li family home.
Staring at the long list of fees to pay, including those for tuition,
books, accommodation and insurance, Li's parents despaired of ever being
able to raise the needed $850 a year. On an annual income of barely $300,
the farming couple from Fangshan County, south of Beijing, are already
supporting Li's elder brother at university.
The Li family is one of tens of thousands of Chinese families struggling
to meet the spiraling costs of higher education. For decades, free
education was one of the ruling Communist Party's proudest boasts, but in
recent years the government has moved toward a more market-oriented
approach. University tuition fees have climbed steadily since free
education was abolished in 1997.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20001101c4.htm
(6) The Japan Times - Wednesday, 1 November 2000
REVISED JUVENILE LAW CLEARS LOWER HOUSE
Age of criminal liability lowered to 14
A Lower House plenary session passed controversial legislation Tuesday to
amend the Juvenile Law to impose harsher penalties on young offenders
and lower the age of criminal liability.
The bill was supported by the tripartite ruling coalition as well as
opposition members from the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal
Party. It will now be sent to the House of Councilors.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20001101a1.htm
(7) Asahi Evening News - Wednesday, 1 November 2000
STIFF JUVENILE BILL ADVANCES IN DIET
The Lower House passed an amendment to the Juvenile Law on Tuesday that
would impose tougher penalties on youthful offenders and lower the age
of criminal responsibility to 14, from 16 now.
Under the proposed legislation, family courts would generally hand over
cases for prosecution of anyone above the age of 16 who intentionally
commits crimes resulting in death. The law would also allow relatives of
crime victims to see and copy pertinent documents and to make statements
in family court hearings.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1101/asahi110103.html
(8) The Daily Yomiuri - Wednesaday, 1 November 2000
LOWER HOUSE PASSES BILL TO REVISE JUVENILE LAW
A bill for a sweeping revision of the Juvenile Law, including a new
provision to lower the minimum age at which juveniles can face criminal
punishment to 14 from the current 16, passed the House of
Representatives at its Tuesday plenary session.
The three ruling coalition parties -- the Liberal Democratic Party, New
Komeito and Hoshuto (New Conservative Party) -- submitted the bill
primarily with the aim of toughening legal deterrents to serious juvenile
crimes in the wake of a series of serious offenses by minors.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1101po01.htm
(9) The Daily Yomiuri - Wednesday, 1 November 2000
LAW TOO SOFT FOR VICTIM'S MOTHER
The Juvenile Law, which is on the verge of revision for the first time in
a half century, will have its focus shifted from protecting juvenile
offenders to making them take responsibility for serious crimes.
The bereaved families of victims of juvenile offenders, however, seem to
feel that the proposed revision to the law does not go far enough.
....Kyoko Iijima, the mother of one victim of juvenile crime, has been
demanding that the law be revised further to incorporate the demands of
the victims' side in general.
Iijima is a 43-year-old Saitama Prefecture homemaker. Her 15-year-old son
was beaten to death by a group of teenage boys in Gumma Prefecture in May
last year.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1101so10.htm
(10) Mainichi Daily News - Wednesday, 1 November 2000
TOXIC SPERM-KILLER FOUND IN BABIES
Large concentrations of a highly toxic chemical, which is believed to
damage sperm and cause other defects, has been detected in the umbilical
cords of 60 percent of tested newborns, it was reported Tuesday at an
Environment Agency panel.
It was the first time ever that the substance, diethylhexyl phthalate
(DEHP), which is used to soften resins such as plastics, was found in the
umbilical cords of newborns.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.mainichi.co.jp/english/news/archive/200011/01/news03.html
(11) The Japan Times - Thursday, 2 November 2000
CHILD ABUSE CASES RISE BY 70 PERCENT
A record 11,631 cases of child abuse were reported in fiscal 1999, an
increase of 70 percent from the previous year, according to a Health and
Welfare Ministry report released Wednesday.
Ministry officials attributed part of this increase to rising public
awareness of the problem, which prompted more people to inform child
counseling centers of previously unreported child abuse cases.
"But it is also undeniable that the sheer number of child abuse cases in
Japan is increasing," one official said.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20001102a4.htm
(12) Mainichi Daily News - Thursday, 2 November 2000
OSAKA SCHOOLS TO ACCEPT MENTALLY HANDICAPPED
The Osaka Prefectural Board of Education has for the first time in the
nation decided to admit students with mental disabilities to prefectural
senior high schools.
Until now, almost all students with mental disabilities in Osaka
Prefecture and other prefectures have attended senior high schools
attached to institutions for disabled children.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.mainichi.co.jp/english/news/archive/200011/02/news02.html
[END]
Here are this week's dozen stories from Japanese national newspapers
concerning educational, family and children's issues.
A positive story on homelearning in Thailand is featured this week,
further evidence of the Japanese news media's willingness to consider
home-based learning both overseas and domestically as a viable
educational alternative.
The BIGGEST news this week, however, was the Japanese parliament's
initial approval of a bill that would allow for Japanese children to be
sentenced at a younger age for committing violent crimes (see stories
below). This signifies a major change concerning treatment of so-called
"delinquent juveniles" in Japanese society.
Meanwhile, lost in all the flurry of press coverage over the Juvenile Law
was a Japanese government report (also listed below) stating that the
number of reported child-abuse cases is at an all-time high in Japan --
skyrocketing by 70 percent (yes, you read that figure correctly) since
1999 alone!
In great contrast to the Juvenile Law story, the Japanese national press
almost seemed to go out of its way NOT to report the "increase in child
abuse" story.
Is it just me, or is there a connection here between these two types of
violence that few in media and government want to see?
Brian Covert
(KnoK NEWS)
Osaka, Japan
-------------------------
(1) Asahi Evening News - Sunday, 29 October 2000
A MOVING PICTURE OF LIFE UNDER MOTHER'S DIRECTION
One autumn day a mother sees her daughter off from home with these words:
"Etsuko, I am glad you are living such a happy life, doing the work you
like best and having so many good friends all over the world. I hope you
cherish your work and keep these friendships for the rest of your life."
Mother is 96, daughter 63. Having just wrapped up one of her
international projects, the daughter is heading off to a ceremony and
party to mark the occasion.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1029/asahi102906.html
(2) Asahi Evening News - Sunday, 29 October 2000
STRICTER PENALTIES NOT ALWAYS THE ANSWER
Three years after her son was brutally slain, 55-year-old Takako Takaya
still searches for answers.
....Takaya's son Koichi was 27 when he was savagely beaten and kicked to
death on the night of Sept. 7, 1997, by five junior high school students
in a park in Tokyo's Ota Ward. The beating went on for an hour.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1029/asahi102901.html
(3) Asahi Evening News - Sunday, 29 October 2000
[Editorial] NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OVERHAUL CAN IMPROVE EDUCATION QUALITY
....Repeated attempts have been made to reform universities, but they
have not really helped the institutions shake off their "Japaneseness" --
in the negative sense of the word. The Education Ministry was frustrated
with universities for their refusal to change according to new government
guidelines, while the universities became openly critical of what they
claimed was excessive government interference.
It is time to end this pattern of mutual recrimination that actually
masks [an] unhealthy co-dependence.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1029/asahi102908.html
(4) The Daily Yomiuri - Monday, 30 October 2000
PARENTS IN THAILAND EXPERIMENT WITH DO-IT-YOURSELF EDUCATION
BANGKOK -- Last November, the Thai government introduced a home school
system that allows parents to educate their children at home. Since then,
a total of 50 families, either dissatisfied with the cramming style of
school education, fearing the spread of drugs among students or trying to
keep closer contact between family members, have started teaching their
children at home.
Yutthachai Chalermchai, a 45-year-old magazine editor who works from his
home in Bangkunon, 20 kilometers south of Bangkok, is one of the
pioneering parents. His two sons, 14-year-old Saipan and 12-year-old
Sarntor, decided in May to study at home instead of going to school.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1030cu17.htm
(5) The Japan Times - Wednesday, 1 November 2000
THE RISING PRICE OF KNOWLEDGE
Hikes in university fees have China's students worried
BEIJING -- It should have been party time on the bright summer day
18-year-old Li Junliang was accepted by prestigious Beijing University.
Fewer than one in 10 of China's students places at any of the country's
crowded colleges and universities, let alone the Oxford University of
China. But the acceptance letter sparked little in the way of celebration
in the Li family home.
Staring at the long list of fees to pay, including those for tuition,
books, accommodation and insurance, Li's parents despaired of ever being
able to raise the needed $850 a year. On an annual income of barely $300,
the farming couple from Fangshan County, south of Beijing, are already
supporting Li's elder brother at university.
The Li family is one of tens of thousands of Chinese families struggling
to meet the spiraling costs of higher education. For decades, free
education was one of the ruling Communist Party's proudest boasts, but in
recent years the government has moved toward a more market-oriented
approach. University tuition fees have climbed steadily since free
education was abolished in 1997.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20001101c4.htm
(6) The Japan Times - Wednesday, 1 November 2000
REVISED JUVENILE LAW CLEARS LOWER HOUSE
Age of criminal liability lowered to 14
A Lower House plenary session passed controversial legislation Tuesday to
amend the Juvenile Law to impose harsher penalties on young offenders
and lower the age of criminal liability.
The bill was supported by the tripartite ruling coalition as well as
opposition members from the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal
Party. It will now be sent to the House of Councilors.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20001101a1.htm
(7) Asahi Evening News - Wednesday, 1 November 2000
STIFF JUVENILE BILL ADVANCES IN DIET
The Lower House passed an amendment to the Juvenile Law on Tuesday that
would impose tougher penalties on youthful offenders and lower the age
of criminal responsibility to 14, from 16 now.
Under the proposed legislation, family courts would generally hand over
cases for prosecution of anyone above the age of 16 who intentionally
commits crimes resulting in death. The law would also allow relatives of
crime victims to see and copy pertinent documents and to make statements
in family court hearings.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1101/asahi110103.html
(8) The Daily Yomiuri - Wednesaday, 1 November 2000
LOWER HOUSE PASSES BILL TO REVISE JUVENILE LAW
A bill for a sweeping revision of the Juvenile Law, including a new
provision to lower the minimum age at which juveniles can face criminal
punishment to 14 from the current 16, passed the House of
Representatives at its Tuesday plenary session.
The three ruling coalition parties -- the Liberal Democratic Party, New
Komeito and Hoshuto (New Conservative Party) -- submitted the bill
primarily with the aim of toughening legal deterrents to serious juvenile
crimes in the wake of a series of serious offenses by minors.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1101po01.htm
(9) The Daily Yomiuri - Wednesday, 1 November 2000
LAW TOO SOFT FOR VICTIM'S MOTHER
The Juvenile Law, which is on the verge of revision for the first time in
a half century, will have its focus shifted from protecting juvenile
offenders to making them take responsibility for serious crimes.
The bereaved families of victims of juvenile offenders, however, seem to
feel that the proposed revision to the law does not go far enough.
....Kyoko Iijima, the mother of one victim of juvenile crime, has been
demanding that the law be revised further to incorporate the demands of
the victims' side in general.
Iijima is a 43-year-old Saitama Prefecture homemaker. Her 15-year-old son
was beaten to death by a group of teenage boys in Gumma Prefecture in May
last year.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1101so10.htm
(10) Mainichi Daily News - Wednesday, 1 November 2000
TOXIC SPERM-KILLER FOUND IN BABIES
Large concentrations of a highly toxic chemical, which is believed to
damage sperm and cause other defects, has been detected in the umbilical
cords of 60 percent of tested newborns, it was reported Tuesday at an
Environment Agency panel.
It was the first time ever that the substance, diethylhexyl phthalate
(DEHP), which is used to soften resins such as plastics, was found in the
umbilical cords of newborns.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.mainichi.co.jp/english/news/archive/200011/01/news03.html
(11) The Japan Times - Thursday, 2 November 2000
CHILD ABUSE CASES RISE BY 70 PERCENT
A record 11,631 cases of child abuse were reported in fiscal 1999, an
increase of 70 percent from the previous year, according to a Health and
Welfare Ministry report released Wednesday.
Ministry officials attributed part of this increase to rising public
awareness of the problem, which prompted more people to inform child
counseling centers of previously unreported child abuse cases.
"But it is also undeniable that the sheer number of child abuse cases in
Japan is increasing," one official said.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20001102a4.htm
(12) Mainichi Daily News - Thursday, 2 November 2000
OSAKA SCHOOLS TO ACCEPT MENTALLY HANDICAPPED
The Osaka Prefectural Board of Education has for the first time in the
nation decided to admit students with mental disabilities to prefectural
senior high schools.
Until now, almost all students with mental disabilities in Osaka
Prefecture and other prefectures have attended senior high schools
attached to institutions for disabled children.
*for whole story, go to --->
http://www.mainichi.co.jp/english/news/archive/200011/02/news02.html
[END]