Recent child abuse cases in Japan 'just the tip of the iceberg', say experts
Ignorance, poverty and decline of the nuclear family blamed for rise in violence against children, the true extent of which is unknown
Police in Tokyo have arrested a man who poured boiling water on the face of his infant daughter - the latest incident of violence against children shocking a society that has always been proud of the way it nurtures its young people.
Tetsuya Sato, 23, was previously arrested in May last year for assaulting his wife and received a suspended sentence.
When his daughter was admitted to a hospital near their home in the Machida suburb of western Tokyo, police were quoted as saying that she had extensive bruising and scarring across her body.
Sato's arrest comes just days after Shogo Yamashita was arrested at his home in Tokushima prefecture, southern Japan, after police discovered he had restrained his three-year-old son with a dog lead tied to a window frame.
And also this month, the director of an IT company was arrested in Tokyo after stamping on the feet of a boy who was reading in a book store. Four similar incidents were reported to police.
Child advocacy groups have been horrified by an apparent upsurge in incidents involving youngsters and fear the true scale of the problem remains hidden.
"From what we can see, the problem is definitely becoming bigger," said Tsuneo Yamamoto, head of the Family Research Division of the Japanese Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
