Bernard Delattre (in Tokyo), edited by Gauthier Delomez
modified to
07:31, December 09, 2022
The Japanese press is interested in the treatment of children under the age of 2 in nurseries and draws up a striking observation: many are mistreated, even threatened by childcare workers. Some media report that “corporal punishment is legion at school”, and that a third of parents admit to having hit their child.
This is a worrying focus that the Japanese media are raising. The latter shine their spotlight on children under the age of two who are victims of post-traumatic stress, after being martyred in the crèche. Japanese dailies report that some are slapped, insulted, stripped in front of everyone, beaten, shaken violently, and even threatened. Childcare workers in particular brandished scissors or cutters in front of their faces.
“Ignorable” and “unbearable” according to the press
An observation that does not fail to make the press of the country react. Such educational methods are “despicable” and “unbearable”, write both the Sankeithe Tokyo Shimbun and the Yomiuri. Faced with this phenomenon, labor inspectors were urgently dispatched to all nurseries in the country. “They are going to have work”, notes the Mainichiwhich emphasizes that “there are nearly 350 cases of abuse per year”.
The latter adds that “corporal punishment is also legion at school”. This is also the case at home: in surveys, a third of parents admit to having hit their children. A figure that brings the tabloid Gendai to formulate a conclusion: “In Japan, the so-called country of infinite courtesy and delicacy, the rights of the child are violated daily”.