Quake survivors stress

QUAKE AFTERMATH: Survivors to learn about car perils

"NIIGATA (Kyodo) The Niigata Prefectural Government said Friday that it will do its best to inform quake survivors about the dangers of living in cars following the several related deaths since a series of earthquakes."

On Thursday, two women, aged 48 and 84, died from what police and doctors said was probably caused by stress and fatigue. The women had both taken refuge in vehicles, and the cause of death of one of them was so-called economy-class syndrome.

... Staying in cars for long hours could cause deep vein thrombosis, also known as economy class syndrome, and other physical complications, not to mention carbon monoxide poisoning from keeping the engine running.

Five people have already died due to health complications believed to be associated with living in cars, including acute heart failure and stroke.

The prefectural government plans to urge municipal governments to inform residents about preventive measures, including taking sufficient fluids and occasionally moving their legs, and recommend they see a doctor immediately if they have difficulty breathing.

Thirty-six people have died due to the quakes and related effects since the first of the temblors hit the region on the Sea of Japan coast Saturday.

More than half of these deaths are believed to have been induced by stress and fatigue.

The Japan Times, Saturday, October 30, 2004

Economy-class syndrome

'Economy-class syndrome' strikes quake victims living in cars

"'NIIGATA -- A 48-year-old woman in an earthquake-hit area died on Thursday from "economy class syndrome" after living in a car for five days causing her blood to clot, officials said.

... Local officials said many residents in quake-hit areas still live in cars to stay warm and maintain their privacy.

"I estimate that just under 1 percent of those who have evacuated their homes live and sleep in their cars," a Niigata Prefecture official said.

But experts warn against living in cars because staying cramped up in a confined space could lead to blood "

Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, October 28, 2004

Quake Survivors Stress 3

Stress Taking Toll on Japan's Quake Survivors

"Doctors say the death toll from Japan's string of earthquakes is rising partly because some of the elderly cannot handle the stress of living in shelters. As of Tuesday 31 people have died and more than 3,400 have been treated in hospitals.

More than 100,000 survivors, many complaining of exhaustion and cold, are spending another night in makeshift shelters, their cars or outdoors on the Sea of Japan Coast. Temperatures are dropping within a few degrees of freezing and it has been drizzling."

The Cousun Ilbo, October 27, 2004

Quake Survivors Stress 2

Japan quake survivors face rain, tremors, stress

NAGAOKA, Japan, Oct 26 (Reuters) - "More than 100,000 exhausted survivors of Japan's deadliest earthquake in a decade bedded down again in schools, cars and tents on Tuesday as rain threatened to trigger more landslides and hamper rescue efforts....

.... About 47,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Nagaoka, Niigata's second biggest city with a population of about 200,000.

In all, more than 103,000 people had been forced from their homes as of Tuesday.

"Our house is high up and the hill collapsed, and now the house is tilting over. Lots of homes nearby were demolished," Nagaoka resident Kazuo Hotaka, 76, said at a school gymnasium where he and his 70-year-old wife Taeko had spent the night.

"We don't have time to get sick. There's too much to do, too much to worry about, and too little information," Hotaka said.

The temperature was set to fall below 5 degrees Celsius (41 F) and rain might mix with snow in mountainous areas at night.

"Even a little rain at this point could really raise the danger of landslides," said an official at an emergency centre set up by the Niigata government.

"We will be hopeless if we have snow here now," said a middle-aged man who planned to spend the night in a tent."

Reuters Alert News, October 26, 2004

Japanese Human Trafficking Law

Japanese government begins efforts to halt human trafficking

"TOKYO - (KRT) - The Japanese government has begun talks to establish a legal framework to halt international trafficking of women and children brought to the nation to work as prostitutes, and human-rights groups want the policy to include protection for the victims.

... The Justice Ministry hopes to revise the Criminal Code in next year's ordinary Diet session to enable the government to charge those involved in human trafficking.

But this action does not extend to significantly improving the nation's support system for victims. Police and judicial authorities will devise a plan this year, but the practical effects remain questionable.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to use women's consultation centers run by local governments and private-sector shelters to provide victims with temporary protection. But these facilities focus on assisting victims of domestic violence.

If the government is to rely on private shelters that barely have enough funds to operate, it should begin offering them financial support.

There are numerous problems to solve, including helping the victims return to society and stay away from prostitution."

Kansas City Star, October 26, 2004

Quake Survivors Stress

Stress Taking Toll on Japan's Quake Survivors

"Doctors say the death toll from Japan's string of earthquakes is rising partly because some of the elderly cannot handle the stress of living in shelters. As of Tuesday 31 people have died and more than 3,400 have been treated in hospitals.

More than 100,000 survivors, many complaining of exhaustion and cold, are spending another night in makeshift shelters, their cars or outdoors on the Sea of Japan Coast. Temperatures are dropping within a few degrees of freezing and it has been drizzling."

The Cousun Ilbo, October 27, 2004

Welfare for the disabled

Welfare for the disabled

"The reform is being prompted by a financial crisis in the government's welfare policy for the nation's approximately 6.5 million disabled people.

In fiscal 2003, a new system was introduced to enable people with disabilities to choose the services they require, rather than let the government decide for them. This program has a budget of about 700 billion yen, but thanks to its ``success'' in creating new demand, it has been running a deficit for two straight years.

Moreover, the program's manner of implementation differs among municipalities and villages, and the nature and hours of services also vary from community to community. People with mental disabilities are excluded from this program.

The reform plan also explains another reason why the ministry is trying to reform its welfare policy for the disabled. The current policy is entirely reliant on taxpayers' money, and the government now wants to tap into nursing care insurance funds we well. But to do so, various services and policies for the disabled have to be brought into unification.

Whatever the ministry's motive, there is no question that welfare services for the disabled must be run fairly for all and, of course, in an efficient manner.

For instance, the planned reform will enable all disabled people to use facilities and in-home services that are now available only to the physically disabled. This is a long-overdue improvement. It was certainly hard to comprehend why the mentally disabled had to be excluded from the support program..."

IHT/The Asahi Shimbun, October 21, 2004

Child Abuse Prevention

Project to prevent child abuse ignored

"A health ministry project that aims to protect children from abuse is off to a disappointingly slow start, leaving many kids in the hands of potential abusers, sources said.

Only a few municipalities have joined the nationwide program, which started in April.

The ministry is trying to encourage public health workers, child counseling centers and physicians to work together to identify families at risk of child abuse.

In this context, teaching child-rearing skills and offering support to parents are considered key.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare earmarked 2 billion yen this fiscal year-roughly half the expected costs-for cities and towns to implement home visits for at-risk families.

The ministry had hoped 957 municipalities would make use of the funds, with prefectural and municipal governments bearing the remainder of the tab.

But by the end of June, only 125 municipalities, or 13 percent of the expected total, had started such projects, sources said.

The ministry plan came ahead of a revision of the Child Abuse Prevention Law that took effect Oct. 1.

The revised law obliges any person who knows of a child being abused or even suspects such abuse to report the case to the appropriate authorities."

IHT/The Asahi Shimbun, October 20, 2004

Anti Child Abuse Networks

Poll find most local gov'ts lack anti-child abuse networks

"Only 40 percent of Japan's local governments have formed anti-child abuse networks between child consultation centers, schools and the police, although such cooperative systems are desperately needed, a government poll has found.

At a time when child abuse has worsened across the country, the Child Abuse Prevention Law urges local governments to take the lead in joining hands with organizations that have hitherto failed to cooperate.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare that carried out the poll said it would urge local governments to form networks to prevent child abuse by detecting it at an early stage.

The poll found that only 1,243 of the 3,123 local governments, or 39.8 percent, have formed a child abuse prevention network as of June this year."

Mainichi Daily News, October 19, 2004

Work related depression suicides in Japan

Claims for work-related mental disorders grow in Japan

"Claims for compensation over work-related mental disorders from April to September hit a record 246 cases, a government report said Tuesday. . .

. . . The number of mental disorder-related cases recognized by the ministry has been on a gradual rise, registering 100 in fiscal 2002 and 108 in fiscal 2003, according to the ministry.

The 246 applications for the six-month period include 56 overwork-related suicide and attempted suicide cases"

Xinhua Net, China View October 19, 2004

Japanese smokers suicide study

Nicotine levels high among smokers committing suicide: study

"Nicotine levels in the blood of smokers who committed suicide is 3.5 times that of smokers who died in accidents or from disease, researchers have found . . .

Moriya warned that an abnormal increase in the number of cigarettes consumed by a smoker could be a sign of suicidal tendencies. "

Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Oct. 17, 2004

Japanese Group Suicides

Japanese Group Suicides

Look for the `bait' to take you to tomorrow

Kazuko To, a poet afflicted with Hansen's disease, wrote a poem that says: ``And I am a fish/ Rising to the bait/ That would hook me today/ To take me to tomorrow.''

This work is included in ``Kibo-no Hi-wo'' (For a spark of hope), published by Henshukobo Noa.

Every time I hear about young people killing themselves in group suicides, I think of To, who has continued to question with a sense of wonderment why she keeps living or is forced to live.

Unlike To, those young suicides did not rise to the bait that would bridge today and tomorrow. Why? And I have to wonder why they felt the need to kill themselves in a group setting.

Here is a comment that ran in The Asahi Shimbun last year: ``I want to die, but I am afraid to die. Perhaps it's more like not wanting to live, rather than wanting to die.''

Apparently, they shared a sense of deep weariness with life. They also seemed to share their fear of death and wanted to avoid pain. Am I to understand, then, that they found their best solution for easing fear and pain in huddling over a charcoal cooking stove and dying together from carbon monoxide poisoning?

... But this suicide pact business is apparently not unique to Japan.

According to a British news report on Net-solicited group suicide attempts, British police were tipped off that six people were planning to commit suicide together. The police stopped them from going ahead. So, Britain does have cases of group suicides, but not as many as are in Japan.

To me, the image of people coming together via the Internet and huddling together around a charcoal stove seems to mirror the loneliness and bleakness that can assault people in Japan today.

I pray that they would at least look for the bait that would ``take them to tomorrow.''

IHT/The Asahi Shimbun: October 15, 2004

Japan Group Suicides

"Group suicide victim tried to kill self a week earlier."

"In the Minano incident, police released the identities of the six victims besides the 34-year-old woman. They were a 33-year-old housewife from Saitama's Urawa-ku, a 26-year-old man from Kawasaki, and four 20-year-olds -- an unemployed woman from Saga; a male university student from Iwaki, Aomori Prefecture; an unemployed man from Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture; and a seasonal worker from Higashiosaka, in Osaka Prefecture...

... The woman from Saga had also failed to find work, and her family had reportedly seen her looking at suicide-related sites on the Internet.

Police said the man from Higashiosaka left his family on Saturday, saying, "I'm just going out," then disappeared. He had reportedly been worried after failing his university entrance examinations. He had attended a preparatory school, but dropped out and was working part time in various jobs."

Compiled from Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, Oct. 13, 2004

Many of the initial Japanese and other world newspaper and wire reports on the suicides of a group of young people, who appear to have met through online suicide web sites and chat rooms and then later met together and committed suicide in a van in Minano (Saitama Prefecture), focused on the "internet group suicide pact" aspect of this sad story. This article from the English version of The Mainichi takes more care to also emphasize the individual situations of each of these young people who died, including their worries and problems in finding work. - Timi.

Suicide Attempts in Japanese Detention Facility

Suicide attempts in Japanese detention facility

"OSAKA (Kyodo) At least 23 people held at a Justice Ministry immigration detention facility in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, tried to kill or harm themselves between March 2000 and last July, with one fatality, according to administrative data released at the request of Kyodo News.

Many of the detainees were held for entering Japan illegally or for staying in Japan in violation of the immigration law. Among the 23 were people seeking refugee status in Japan.

Supporters said refugee claimants have been complaining of being treated like criminals for long periods after fleeing their countries and risking their lives...

... Shogo Watanabe, a lawyer with extensive experience in refugee issues, said, "The big problem is the fact that they are detained for an indefinite period.

"Feelings of despair and a sense that they are facing a deadlock have a considerable psychological impact on them," Watanabe said. "The Justice Ministry should recognize the gravity of detaining a human being."

The Japan Times: October 10, 2004"

(The article itself, apart from it's sensational title, does highlight concerns among a lot of people in Japan about both human rights and mental health issues involved in the holding of people indefinitely in immigration detention facililies - Timi).

Domestic Violence

RIGHTS JAPAN: Activists Want Foreign Spouse Abuse Acknowledged

"While domestic violence is now accepted as a major issue in the country, activists are working hard to draw attention to abused foreign spouses who they say suffer just as much as their Japanese counterparts

Foreign women who are victims of violence, especially Asian women married to Japanese men are helpless given their language handicap. Also legal and social barriers are against them in the country,'' says Hiromi Onoe, spokeswomen for Clover -- a civic organization in Osaka, Japan's second largest city about 400 kilometers west of Tokyo.

Clover is the only organization in western Japan dealing with problems faced by foreign women and within a year since it was established has already dealt with 75 cases of domestic violence where wives have already left or still enduring husbands who are physically and psychologically abusive.

The women we deal with are mostly from China or the Philippines because we offer services in their language. The cases show clearly how Japanese men taunt their wives by taking advantage of their vulnerability,"

October 7th, 2004

(An interesting article, focusing in this case on women from other Asian countries who are the victims of domestic violence in Japan, that emphasizes the need to recognise in law that "human rights for all victims regardless of their nationality must be respected." - timi )

Child Abuse

"Keeping children safe" (Child Abuse Protection Japan)

"Even though the central government has substantially increased its child protection budget for the current fiscal year and created new projects, many local governments have failed to take the cue.

For example, the central government subsidizes 50 percent of local government spending on services for parents who need experts calling them at home to offer guidance. The subsidy is enough to cover these services in about 1,000 municipalities and villages, but only 120 have applied for it. At this rate, the budget is going to remain unused. Against this backdrop, the National Governors' Association and five other local entities have proposed, as part of national and local tax and fiscal reform plans, that central government subsidies be abolished for services that concern child abuse.

The subsidies in question are worth about 70 billion yen, including the costs of running foster care homes for abused children. For some 30,000 youngsters who are now living at about 550 such institutions around the nation, ending those subsidies would be tantamount to depriving them of even a minimum standard of a safe existence.

In theory, it is correct to abolish subsidies and transfer equivalent tax revenue sources to local governments. The reality, however, is that some local governments are simply not doing enough to protect children from abuse even though subsidies and tax allocations are available. Given this fact, we cannot expect such governments to suddenly become committed to the cause just because of new tax revenue sources.

Child abuse became a social issue in this country about 10 years ago. It was not punishable by law until 2000. Japan lags 20 years or so behind Europe and America in this regard. If local governments really intend to decline central government subsidies, they must first hire all the experts they need and start committing themselves in earnest to combating child abuse."

The Asahi Shimbun, Octtober 6, 2004

Sex crime victims

Sex crime victims

"Victims of sex crimes have been urged by one of Japan's most prominent crusaders against carnal assault not to blame themselves for the predicaments they have faced.

Takako Yoshida, a freelance journalist and author of a book about sexual abuse of children, also sent out a strong message for Japan to strongly reject sex abuse.

"To create an environment where victims feel at enough ease to be able to talk about what they have gone through, society as a whole must strongly condemn sexual assault," Yoshida told a forum on sex crime victims at which she was the keynote speaker on Sunday....

...Kenichi Onodera, Iwate Prefectural Police's officer in charge of dealing with crime victims, told the forum of the difficulties involved in conducting an investigation while also ensuring victims were simultaneously given support.

"For a victim's long-term support, it's not only police who should be involved, but counselors are absolutely vital," Onodera said. "It's also important for society to realize just what cruel treatment has been handed out to victims."

Mainichi Shimbun, Oct. 6, 2004

Child Abuse Prevention Law

Tragedy of child abuse

"In the 2 years since the Child Abuse Prevention Law came into force at the end of 2000, a total of 127 children have died in physical abuse cases, according to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Of these, there were 24 cases in which child consultation center officers were aware of the abuse."

The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 16, 2004

Human Trafficking

Japan wakes up to scourge of human trafficking

"Trafficking in persons is organized crime. If Japan allows the black market that exploits foreign women in this callous way to flourish, turning a blind eye to clear violations of human rights, censure and scorn from the international community will be the correct and natural outcome.

Role of NGOs: For that matter, it is the NGO community that is stepping in to protect and support the rights of the victims-persons prone to suffer deep physical and psychological wounds. Working through the Japanese embassies of their own countries, they are housed in the extremely limited number of privately run shelters (emergency refuges for battered women and others in dire need) with foreign-language speaking staffers. However, with these private facilities existing largely on donations, their financial troubles tend to be severe, with the care of the victims consigned largely to volunteers. "

The Asahi Shimbun., August 25, 2004