Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma in Japan

doi:10.1017/9781009177894.025

Chapter 24 - Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma in Japan

from Section 5 - International

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 June 2023

Edited by

Waney Squier and

Keith A. Findley: Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Cyrille Rossant: Affiliation:
University College London
Kana Sasakura: Affiliation:
Konan University, Japan
Leila Schneps: Affiliation:
Sorbonne Université, Paris
Waney Squier: Affiliation:
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford
Knut Wester: Affiliation:
Universitetet i Bergen, Norway

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Summary

This chapter describes the history of child abuse detection and prevention in Japan and how the fight against child abuse became a social agenda especially during the 2000s. The SBS/AHT hypothesis became a commonly accepted notion during the same period and was used in criminal cases to prosecute carers and in administrative cases to separate them from their children in order to ‘protect’ the children. However, as we shall see in this chapter, the SBS/AHT hypothesis has become a controversial topic of debate recently and there have been a number of court decisions in criminal cases since 2018 questioning the hypothesis or diagnoses based on the hypothesis . This chapter overviews these recent developments and show the current status of debate around SBS/AHT in Japan with an emphasis on criminal cases.

Keywords

Japan child protection guidelines child-care handbook introduction of SBS hypothesis Nakamura type 1 SDH acquittals recent court decisions

Type: Chapter
Information: Shaken Baby Syndrome
Investigating the Abusive Head Trauma Controversy
, pp. 359 - 373

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009177894.025 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2023

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Chapter 24 - Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma in Japan

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