Amid wave of child abuse, former victim to open shelter

Japan Today

4 days ago

Kogetsu Otagaki (facing camera) meets with a member of her nonprofit organization to discuss the opening of a shelter to support young women, in Chiba in March.
By Ibuki Ikegami
Japan has seen a disturbing rise in nationwide child abuse cases over the past three decades and the problem is getting worse each year. Now, one woman who was abused as a child is working to open a shelter for girls and young women.
Kogetsu Otagaki, 24, was taken into custody at a children's shelter at age 18, but says staff were not serious about caring for their wards. She knows from experience that kids seeking safety from violence need not only protection but comprehensive support for all aspects of life.
"Half-hearted intervention doesn't heal wounds but instead inflicts new pain. Real support is crucial," Otagaki, director of nonprofit Child Oasis Kogetsu Villa, told Kyodo News in a recent interview.
There were 2,649 cases of child abuse in Japan in 2024, a record high, the National Police Agency announced in June. The figure includes 52 children who died, up 24 from 2023.
Government data shows that child welfare centers responded to a record-high 225,500 reports of child abuse in fiscal 2023, with psychological abuse making up more than half. Physical abuse made up 22.9 percent, or 51,623 cases, followed by 36,465 cases of neglect and 2,473 sexual abuse cases.
Under Japanese law, psychological abuse includes witnessing domestic violence, which some experts say is one factor in the long-term increase in child abuse cases.
The total rose 5.0 percent, or 10,666 cases, from fiscal 2022, marking the 33rd consecutive year of increase since records began, according to the revised figures compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Children and Families Agency.
The percentage of physical abuse among all cases tends to increase with age.
The increase in the number of reported cases is believed to be attributed to the fact that some parents feel trapped raising their kids without being able to consult with anyone, as well as to the establishment of a nationwide hotline which can be used to immediately report abuse once it is suspected.
Otagaki, who currently lives in Chiba, near Tokyo, says her father was verbally abusive when he would get drunk. When she was in elementary school, he became violent, shoving her into a trash bin and saying he was throwing her away.
In high school, her father would keep her up at night, berating her.
"'You have nowhere to run,' he told me," she said. Otagaki would cry so hard she would often hyperventilate and breathe into a bag to calm herself.
Stressed, Otagaki gained weight. She cut off her hair, which she had carefully grown out over the years. She was a far cry from how she had imagined herself as a high school girl.
The daily scoldings began to take their toll on her sleep, and she started to have trouble staying awake in class. At the age of 15, she was temporarily taken into protective custody at a child welfare facility at the urging of a teacher.
When she returned home a few months later, her father blamed her mother, saying, the reason Otagaki was "abducted by the child welfare center" was because her mother had raised her wrong. The family environment deteriorated. The abuse intensified.
She had believed her mother was basically kind, even though she would sometimes encourage her father's outbursts. But when she was 16, her mother threatened her with a knife and Otagaki realized she was also an abuser.
At the age of 18, Otagaki feared for her life and called a local government hotline. She found a private children's shelter where she was taken into protective custody. The family-like, peaceful environment allowed her to gradually recover.
But she questioned the shelter's strict rules. Internet and telephone access were prohibited in order to shield the location of youths from their parents. Residents could not readily go to school or find work to their satisfaction. Otagaki felt that while the center was protecting the children, it was not preparing them for their future lives.
As her physical strength declined due to lack of exercise, the only jobs arranged for her were a live-in caretaker and farmhand.
Otagaki was unable to handle the grueling work and was bullied. She quit both jobs after three months. She had lost her home, employment and had grown distrustful of the shelter.
In August 2024, Otagaki established her nonprofit in Chiba because she wants to provide services offering a "child's perspective." She aims to open the facility next spring for girls and women ages 15 to 20 to live, commute to school and find employment.
Some of the renovation and operating costs of the facility are expected to come from the government and Chiba City. A municipal official pointed out that it's rare for a person who has been an abuse victim to create such a facility.
Otagaki says she understands that her father was "immature" and taking out his frustrations on a daughter who was unable to fight back. They now live apart.
"I hope he will someday reflect on the scars he left on my life," she said.
Otagaki abandoned her original given name, which her parents had constantly yelled at her in anger, changing it last year to Kogetsu, using kanji characters for "bright moon."
"When I called the hotline office from the park for help, I looked up crying and saw the moon shining in the night sky. I want to be like the full moon that shines on children," she said.
© KYODO