Japan Govt Adopts Bill to Create Japanese Version of DBS

Jiji Press

16:22 JST, March 20, 2024

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The government, at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, adopted a bill to create a system to bar people with any sex crime records from jobs involving contact with children.

The bill to create the Japanese version of Britain’s Disclosure and Barring Service calls for obliging schools, nurseries and orphanages to check whether job seekers and workers have such records and implement other measures to protect the safety of children, such as giving related training to their staff members.

If job seekers or workers are found to have sex crime records, the facilities would be urged not to hire them or to move them to positions that do not involve contact with children, in order to ensure children’s safety.

For other businesses involving contact with children, such as cram schools and sports clubs, no uniform obligations would be imposed. Instead, a program would be established for facilities that implement measures to protect the safety of children to get state certification on a voluntary basis and have their names released.

The certified facilities would be required to check sex offense records as is the case with schools, nurseries and orphanages.

Records of sex crimes under the Penal Code as well as violations of prefectural ordinances banning molesting and voyeurism would be kept registered on the Japanese DBS system’s database for 20 years after the perpetrators are released from prison, and for 10 years regarding offenses resulting in fines.

Records of sex crimes resulting in suspended sentence would be maintained in the database for 10 years after the sentence becomes final.

The Japanese DBS system will be introduced within two and a half years after the bill is promulgated.

If one is confirmed to have a sex crime record, the Children and Families Agency will notify the individual in advance and will not tell about the record to the employer side if he or she declines the job offer or quit the job.

The agency believes that the dismissal of workers confirmed to have sex crime records might be acceptable if it is difficult to transfer them to different positions. The agency plans to clarify its stance on the matter by drawing up guidelines.

Also, the bill calls for schools and other facilities to exclude teachers having a risk of sexually abusing children from work with contact with children even if they have no sex crime records.