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Mr. Chairperson,

Honorable members of the Committee,

It is a great honour for me to represent the Government of Japan at the

Committee of the Rights of the Child on the occasion of the consideration of the second

periodic report of the Government of Japan on the Convention. I am Shotaro Oshima,

Permanent Representative of the Government of Japan to the United Nations

Organizations to Geneva. My delegation comprises of representatives of ministries and

agencies of the Japanese government concerned with this issue, namely the Cabinet

Office, the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology and Ministry

of Health, Labour and Welfare. I am pleased to note that there are observers from the

Japanese Parliament as well as the civil society.

My government submitted the second periodic report to the Committee in

November 2001 and has replied to the list of issues raised by the Committee in October

last year. Based on these documents, we hope to have a fruitful exchange of views and

information with the distinguish members of the Committee.

More than 5 years have past since the last review of our initial report of the CRC

in May 1998. In these years the government of Japan has made concrete efforts to the

protection and promotion of the rights of children in Japan as well as the improvement of

their well-being, both on legal and administrative aspects. In this statement, in response

to the suggestions and recommendations in the Concluding Observation by the

Committee, I would like to focus on measures and policies we have taken in 5 main areas,

which are

(1) Reinforcement of the coordination mechanism of the government concerning

implementation of the CRC,

(2) Fight against child abuse,

(3) Fight against the Commercial and sexual exploitation of children,

(4) Education reform,

(5)Reinforcement of the existing governmental system in terms of further

implementation of the CRC.

And then I would refer to the measures we intend to take in terms of further promotion of

the rights of the child, followed by our international cooperation in this field.

I. Improvement in the implementation of the CRC

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1. Strengthening the coordination mechanism of the government concerning

implementation of the CRC

First, the government has the Cabinet Office in January 2001, for the sake of

overall coordination and policy planning for matters identified as “important issue to the

State“. In line with the recommendation in Paragraph 30 in the Concluding Observation,

policies regarding the sound development of the youth including children have been

identified as one of the important issues to be handled by the Cabinet Office with due

recognition of the importance of the subject. Furthermore, the “Headquarters for Youth

Development” was established in June 2003 within the Cabinet, headed by the Prime

Minister, with all Cabinet members. It plays the role of coordinating policies on youth at

the ministerial level.

In December 2003, the government formulated the “National Youth

Development Policy” which states all the government’s basic principles and directions of

its intermediate and long term programs for the sound development of the youth in Japan.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is clearly indicated in its chapter “Purpose”,

which states that policies and measures related to the youth should be properly promoted

in accordance with the promotion and protection of the rights of children and youth, as

stated in the CRC and other relevant human rights instruments. The government

continues to implement child-related policies in accordance with this National Policy.

2. Fight against child abuse

In response to the recommendation in Paragraph 40, Japan enacted, in May 2000,

the “Law related to Prevention of Child Abuse”, in addition to the existing “Child Welfare

Law” which protects and promotes well-being of children in general. This Prevention of

Child Abuse Law is the first domestic legislation which provides for the definition of

child abuse as well as the responsibilities of both central and local governments regarding

the prevention of child abuse. The implementation of the Law made it possible to raise

awareness and understanding of people and parties concerned and has led to the

early-finding and early-response to child abuse, as latent cases hidden in homes came to

be reported to child guidance centers. In this context, the cases reported to the centers

doubled to 23,274 in 2001 from 11,631 in 1999, and shows a slight increase in 2002 to

23,738.

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3. Fight against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children(CSEC)

The Committee made the recommendation, in Paragraphs 37 and 40 to reinforce

measures to tackle with the CSEC. Japan enacted the Law for Punishing Acts Related to

Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and for Protecting Children in 1999. The Law

has achieved significant results in eradicating acts related to child prostitution and child

pornography as well as in raising awareness that these acts are serious crimes which

impede the rights and dignity of children.

The draft amendment which contains modifications of some provisions of this

Law in order to ratify “Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child

Prostitution and Child Pornography” and “Council of Europe Convention on

Cybercrime” was introduced to the Diet last summer. Unfortunately, the legislative

procedure was cut short due to the dissolution of the Diet last autumn. The government

expects the re-introduction of this draft amendment in preparation to the current session

of the Diet for the ratification of both the Optional Protocol and the Convention in the first

half of this year. In response to recommendation Paragraph 46, the government has

already designed its National Plan of Action against CSEC which is now under

implementation.

Moreover, Japan ratified the ILO Convention No.182 prohibiting the Worst form

of the Child Labour in 2001. The government also gained the approval of the Diet last

spring concerning the ratification of the U.N. Convention against Transnational

Organized Crime in order to prevent transnational organized crime such as trafficking in

persons. The government is currently working towards the ratification of three

supplemental protocols of the Convention in particular that of trafficking in persons.

4. Education reform

Mr. Chairperson,

The Committee has made recommendation on our education system in

Paragraph 43 of the Concluding Observation. Taking into account this recommendation,

the government of Japan now promotes education which pays full attention to the rights

of the child. We believe this brings about education that realizes the sprit of the CRC.

To be specific, as of April 2002, the government has introduced “five-day school week”

system in all public schools. This enables children to spend more time at home and local

community, where they can cultivate abilities to think and learn on their own and develop

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sound body and mind through experience within society and nature. Through the

so-called “Courses of Study“ which are the national guideline of education set by the

government, which took effect in April 2002, content of education was carefully

structured to foster “zest for life” in an enabling environment. Taking advantage of such

an environment, each school is pursuing guidance with care tailored for each and every

child.

The Committee has made a recommendation in Paragraphs 13 and 35 of the

Concluding Observation to the unequal access by Korean children to institutions of

higher education including university and called for improvement. The eligibility for

admission to universities in Japan is generally recognized for all in Japan, regardless of

such factors as gender, race and nationality. But the government has taken a new

measure in September last year which broadened the eligibility for application to

universities in Japan for graduates of schools for foreigners; graduates of schools for

foreigners, over the age of 18, are granted the eligibility to apply for universities when

they are recognized by universities that he or she has equal or higher scholastic ability

to graduates of Japanese high schools. Such measures, we believe, are along the line

of the Concluding Observation.

5. Reinforcement of the existing governmental system in terms of further

implementation of the CRC

Mr. Chairperson,

Regarding the improvement and expansion of the system of “Human Rights

Volunteers for Children’s Rights Protection”, recommended by the Committee in

Paragraph 32, there are approximately 700 members, an increase of 100 since the review

of the initial report in 1998. In addition to the Human Rights Volunteers, the government

is also going to undertake the comprehensive reinforcement of the child counseling

system. More specifically, municipalities will carry out the task of counseling, mainly of

parents on general matters such as child health and child rearing, in order to focus on

more difficult cases that include child abuse and juvenile delinquency.

Moreover, the government will establish a new system in which the Family

Court can be involved in the counseling measures taken by the Child Guidance Center.

The government intends to submit draft amendment of the Child Welfare Law to the

current session of the Diet in order to realize the system.

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The Committee has made a recommendation in Paragraph 29 regarding the direct

implementation of provisions of the CRC. At the ratification of an international treaty or

convention, the government scrutinizes to see if all of the provisions of the treaty or the

convention can be implemented with existing domestic laws. For those provisions that

cannot be implemented by the existing laws, the Government revises the such laws or

enacts new laws. Therefore, in implementing provisions of a treaty, we only have to use

the domestic laws where the contents and sprit of the treaty are already incorporated, thus

no need to invoke provisions of the treaty. I hasten to add that there are many tribunal

cases where provisions and the sprit of the CRC are referred or quoted during the

proceedings.

II. Measures to be taken in terms of further promotion of the rights of the child

1. Cooperation with the civil society

The Committee has recommended in Paragraph 34 to enhance cooperation

between the government and the civil society including NGOs. We do agree there might

not have been enough contacts between the two parties before, but activities of NGOs

have been growing significantly in the recent years; there is a growing tendency in the

government to try to construct better relations with the civil society based on the

recognition that reflecting their voices to policies should lead to better implementation of

measures. In the process of the formulation of this second periodic report, the

government has held meetings with major NGOs three times and exchanged views and

information and made maximum efforts to incorporate suggestions from NGOs into the

periodic report. Before today’s consideration, the government, composed of 20 officials,

held a meeting with major NGOs and some parliamentarians who are particularly

interested in the issue.

We continue to strengthen cooperation with the civil society towards the

improvement of the environment surrounding children.

2. Dissemination of the CRC

This year, Japan commemorates the 10th anniversary of the ratification of the CRC.

Over the past ten years, the government, as it is indicated in the Concluding Observation

Paragraph 33, exerted efforts to disseminate the spirit and provisions of the Convention

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by producing brochures and posters and holding seminars and trainings. But we

acknowledge that these efforts have not brought about satisfactory results yet. The

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is going to hold a symposium on the 10th anniversary of the

ratification of the CRC this spring. Details are still under consideration but we hope that

it will be a good occasion for the Japanese people to think about how in an industrialized

country like Japan the rights of their children should be protected and promoted.

III. For Children in the World

Finally, before concluding my statement, I would like to share with you our

current efforts on international cooperation in the field of the protection and promotion of

the rights of children in the world, as stipulated in the preamble of the CRC. Japan

hosted, together with UNICEF and two international NGOs, the Second World Congress

against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in December 2001, at the same

time with the submission of the periodic report. The Congress proved to be a great

success with the participation of more than 3,000 people and the adoption of the outcome

document “Yokohama Global Commitment” which states measures to be taken under the

CSEC. Japan also held the international symposium focusing on the trafficking of

children in southeast Asian countries in February last year. In Khartoum last August,

Japan sponsored a regional symposium on the eradication of the Female Genital

Mutilation in collaboration with the government of Sudan and UNICEF. Of course, we

are promoting the Official Development Assistance, 30 percent of whose total amount is

allocated to serve the Basic Human Needs, such as Primary Education, Health and Water,

which directly help the well-being of children. Japan has been active in dealing with

transnational crimes which are threats to children. Japan actively involved itself in the

cooperation in the Asian-Pacific region to prevent trafficking in persons, the so-called

“Bali Process”. Japan also held training seminars on the prevention of trafficking in

persons at the United Nations Asian Far-East Institute for the prevention of Crimes,

where the Japanese government is a substantial contributor for the management of the

Institute.

Japan recognizes its duty as an industrialized state to contribute to the protection

and promotion of children in the world; we continue to do so actively in close

collaboration with such organizations as UNICEF and NGOs.

Mr. Chairperson,

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This completes the over-all review of actions of the Government of Japan during

the past five years. Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to address to you

all. We all hope that today’s dialogue with the Committee proves fruitful .

(End)

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