The history of children and youth in Japan

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Juvenile Crime Laws Under Scrutiny
By Suvendrini Kakuchi, IPS, 11 March 1998. A rise in the number of shocking crimes committed by children in Japan has sparked a national debate on whether to tighten existing laws that critics say treat juvenile offenses far too lightly.
Girl gangs forcing teens into prostitution
By Sayaka Hitachi, Mainichi Shimbun, Friday 16 July 1999. Teen-age female gangs who assume street names, are relying on threats to extort money from high school and junior high school girls.
Child abuse cases hit record high
Mainichi Shimbun, Tuesday 2 November 1999. Reporting of child abuse cases soared to a record high across the nation in fiscal 1998, with parents fingered as the main culprits in the abuse with mothers accounting for over half of the cases.
Growing Up After ‘Adults' Day’
By Suvendrini Kakuchi, IPS, 12 Janmuary 2000. Reflections on Japanese youth today—and what they will become in a changing society—are rife as the country observed coming-of-age day on Jan 10. Thousands of young women and men dressed in expensive versions of traditional attire made specially for that day made trips to the city office and temples to mark their new legal status as adults.