Victoria Tran

Professor Broadbent
Writing 39C
April 22, 2018
HCP Draft

“I got sick of feeding them and giving them

baths.” -Sanae Shinomura Commented [VT1]: Should this quote go above or below
the next paragraph

Labeled the Osaka abandonment case, Sanae Shinomura, a 23 year-old-mother, left her 3
year-old-daughter and 1 year-old-son to starve to death in her apartment. Their rotting corpses
were found a month after she had abandoned them by one of Shinomura’s colleague, who
noticed a foul odor when he came by to check up on her.
Japan is regarded by
many as one of the most polite,
respectful, and friendly country
on this Earth. This perspective
leads many people to believe
that child abuse could not
possibly be a problem in that
country. This hidden problem Commented [VT2]: Change this sentence to make less
in Japan’s society/culture is awkward.

slowing starting to gain more

awareness and attention,
resulting in a major increase in
the numbers of child abuse
cases getting reported. Child
abuse has many forms ranging
from physical abuse to abandonment. There are numerous factors and situations that plays a role
in the causation of child abuse.
A problem with child abuse in Japan is that people do not know that it is even happening. Commented [VT3]: Make this flow better
Dr. Seiji Sakai commented, “In pediatric circles we thought there wasn’t much child abuse and
that we were different from the United States because our culture was different.” Their culture,
however, did not prevent child abuse, it masked it instead. Japan has a long history of absolute
“parental authority.” This made children the possessions of their parents and no one, including
the government, could question a parent’s way of “discipline”/ teaching their own child. This
generated a culture that has a heavy emphasis on other people not interfering with another
family’s business. Therefore, this leads to people ignoring the acts of child abuse, even when all
the evidence points to it.
 In Japan, the right of the family head was very strong and
until the 1860’s, when if the father unintentionally killed a
child, by being too strict or too violent, he was not
questioned.

In pre-modern Japan, the lack of resources/food and poverty rate made it hard for large
families to survive, resulting in the disposal of children as a social norm.

Changing the law is one thing. Changing social traditions, which affect health and the
health professions, is another (Battery, 2001)

As a consequence, people who become aware of a child being

abused often are reluctant to report it out of fear of being sued by the
victim’s parents for defamation. (Tikkanen)
When did the problem begin?

The Lost Decade/Lost Score= economic decrease, stock market crashed,

Where is it being felt

Families with multiple births are subjected to more stress and this is a contributing factor
to the increase of abuse in the household. A study in Japan found that 10% of the victims who
suffered from child abuse came from a multiple birth household. (Tanimura) Child abuse seen in
multiple birth families are more evident when only one child out of the multiple births (twin,
triplet, etc.) is born or grows to develop a congenital or neonatal disease. With multiple birth
children, parents tend to compare their development to one another, expecting that they would
grow both mentally and physical at the same rate. When this expectation is not fullfiled and “the
difference between twins in their development,” (Tanimura) is noticed by the parents, the
situation “encourages favouritism, which result(s) in (the) abuse of only one twin.” (Tanimura)
In the same study of families with children of multiple births, the researchers observed
that when all the children are abused equally, it is not likely because of a disease. It is likely
either because of a parent personality disorder or because of a social economic problem.
Tanimura believes that the additional stress brought on by having to look after multiple kids
combined with economic problems heightens the parents’ emotional responses and leads to the
abuse of the twins/children of multiple birth.
 It is said that as long as humans form families and live with them, child abuse will continue to
exist as part of the “grime of life.” ( Shigeru Watanabe)

Who is affected
The children
Mental health
Leads into everyone in society
Scenes from Mother, 2018 Korean remake of Japanese TV series, Mother
Figure 1 World Health Organization 2002

Kyodo. “Mom: No Remorse for Kids' Deaths.” The Japan Times,

www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/08/01/national/mom-no-remorse-for-kids-
deaths/#.WuFNrS7wbIV.
Tanimura, Masako. “Child Abuse of One of a Pair of Twins in Japan.” The Lancet, Elsevier, 26
Sept. 2003,
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/014067369092975N.
Tikkanen, Mike. “Invisible Children Around the World; Japan.” INVISIBLE CHILDREN,
www.invisiblechildren.org/2017/05/20/invisible-children-around-the-world-japan/.