Yuki Tanaka: The Significance of Enacting the Basic Act on Children and Future Challenges

2023/04/17

In June 2022, with the aim of realizing a "child-centered society," the "Basic Act on Children" was enacted and promulgated alongside the Act for Establishment of the Children and Families Agency (enforced on April 1, 2023). The Basic Act on Children aims to protect children's rights and comprehensively promote child-related policies. It sets forth fundamental principles based on the four principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: "prohibition of discrimination," "the best interests of the child," "the right to life, survival, and development," and "respect for the views of the child."

The international movement surrounding children's rights began with the 1924 Declaration of Geneva, which was the first international document to mention the human rights of children. Subsequently, through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959), the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989. This convention clarified that children are subjects of rights.

When Japan ratified the convention in 1994, the government took the position that legislative measures for implementing the convention had already been taken, and that there was no need to enact or amend domestic laws to fulfill the convention's obligations. Even after ratification, arguments calling for the enactment of a basic law on children's rights continued, and while many local governments enacted various ordinances regarding children, domestic laws corresponding to the convention were not established. However, nearly 30 years have passed since ratification, yet cases of children's rights violations continue unabated. In addition to child abuse, bullying, corporal punishment, and child poverty, issues such as young carers, rights violations involving social media, and "black school rules" have also been pointed out in recent years. While responses have been made through individual laws such as the Child Abuse Prevention Act (enacted in 2000), a comprehensive law to protect children's rights did not exist, and new legislative measures were strongly demanded.

The Basic Act on Children, along with the four principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child mentioned earlier, sets forth the securing of a nurturing environment for the healthy growth of children and the improvement of the social environment for child-rearing as fundamental principles. It defines the responsibility of national and local governments to formulate and implement child policies in accordance with the law's fundamental principles and mandates the government to formulate the "Children's General Outline" for the comprehensive promotion of child policies. The Basic Act on Children will serve as a common foundation for formulating specific policies and initiatives related to children and will play an important role in systematically constructing systems for the protection of children's rights. Since it serves as the legal basis for future specific measures, the significance of children's rights being explicitly stated in the Basic Act on Children is extremely large. Promotion of the protection of children's rights is expected.

On the other hand, when formulating child policies based on the Basic Act on Children, the "voices of children" who are the stakeholders are important. A major challenge will be how to build a society where children can raise their voices themselves and where those voices can be sufficiently heard. This involves strengthening the system for realizing "respect for the views of the child," which is a principle of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and was also incorporated into the Basic Act on Children.

For children to raise their voices themselves, it is essential that they know their own rights and that the adults around them recognize and support those rights. However, in Japan, the Convention on the Rights of the Child is not sufficiently well-known, and social awareness of children's rights cannot be said to be high. It is necessary to widely publicize the existence and content of the convention and the Basic Act on Children to society and to raise each individual's awareness of children's rights. Furthermore, a system must be created where it is easy for children to speak up and where their voices can be fully listened to. For this, the cooperation of surrounding adults is naturally required, but in addition, there is a need to strengthen the presence of "advocates for children."

Currently, Japan does not have an independent national rights protection agency for children (commissioner/ombudsperson) and has received recommendations regarding its establishment from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Among local governments, Kawanishi City in Hyogo Prefecture established the nation's first "Children's Rights Ombudsperson" in 1999, and to date, similar institutions have been placed in more than 30 local governments. Looking at domestic relations procedures, systems such as the legal representative for children have been established. Thus, the establishment of local government agencies and the introduction of legal systems to realize "respect for the views of the child" are progressing. The Basic Act on Children also includes provisions for publicizing the contents of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Basic Act, as well as reflecting children's opinions in child policies. However, to further promote "respect for the views of the child," strengthening systems and institutions, including the creation of a national rights protection agency, is an urgent matter. Specific deliberations are awaited.

The enactment of the Basic Act on Children is said to be the "first step" in protecting children's rights. While that step has finally been taken, what is important is the journey from here. It goes without saying that all people who make up society must walk together. I have high expectations for future specific child policies centered on the Basic Act on Children and the Children and Families Agency, and I strongly hope for the realization of a "child-centered society."