Frequencies of child abuse in Japan: Hidden but prevalent crime

A total of 98 women newly employed by a company in Tokyo were interviewed a nd asked to recall the frequency of abuse they experiences as children. if the abuse is defined as an act occurring at least several times a month, th e rates of the fathers' emotional neglect, threat, shaming the children sla pping, punching with a fist, kicking, hitting with an object, and burning w ere 5%, 3%, 1%, 4%, 3%, 0%, 0%, and 0%, respectively, whereas the correspon ding rates of the mothers' acts were 9%, 5%, 2%, 0%, 1%, 0%, 1%, and 0%, re spectively. None of the children who had been abused at least several times a month reported having sought other people's help. This study suggests th at child abuse in Japan is no less prevalent than in the Western countries and that most abuse cases are unidentified and therefore go unrelieved by i ntervention.