"Japan's overwhelming use of institutions instead of family-based care is failing thousands of vulnerable children by not preparing them for independent, productive lives in Japanese society. " Read the full Human Rights Watch Japan Report here: Without Dreams: Children in Alternative Care in Japan
夢がもてない：養護施設や里親の下で暮らす子どもたち A video about situation of institutions and a story of a women who grown up in the institution. HRM日本, 2 May, 2014.
児童養護施設に住んでいることを”カミングアウト”した時の友達の反応！？ This is a story of a girl who grown up in an institution. She talks about when she came out that she lives in the institution. 社会的養護専門 たすけあいch / 田中れいか, 4 May, 2021.
This video looks at the experiences and situation of children in institutions in Japan. "Orphans are Japan’s neglected children. Most of them live in institutions, out of sight and out of mind. But calls are growing for authorities to overcome their reluctance to place children with adoptive families, an approach recognised in most developed countries as the best option for vulnerable and abandoned children." Aljazeera 101 East, 24 Sep 2015.
【EXIT】児童養護施設出身の早大生にリアルな現実を聞いてみた【めざまし８】This is a story of a university studens grown up in an institution. She wants to spread the university system to children in institutions to give them options to go to university. めざまし8チャンネル, 14 Jan, 2022.
虐待の過去を越えて～児童養護施設 生い立ちと向き合う This is a story about a girl who was abused by family and grew up in an institution. NHK, 28 Nov, 2015.
Witness: Lack of Support in Japanese Orphanages An article about the situation in orphanages in Japan that focuses on the story of one child, Masahiro Suzki who spent time in an orphanage that became infamous for its abuse of the children there. Human Rights Watch, 1 May 2014.
夢がもてないー日本における社会的擁護下の子どもたち, 1 May 2014, Japanese version of the site Japan: Children in Institutions Denied Family Life: Alternative Child Care System Failing Thousands of Children
変えろ！児童養護施設出身者の望まぬ”末路” "Change the difficult future of the people graduated nursing houses!",日経ビジネス,15 Sep 2017, There is the interview to Mr. Takahashi who knows well about the situation of children grown up in the nursing houses, and who provides job services for them.
児童養護施設を出た子どもたちに、一番必要な力 "The most needed thing for the children who grew up in the nursing houses." 」, Soft bank News, 26 Dec 2017, The conversation interview with Fujikawa-san, who works in the NPO supporting children independence.
NPO Bridge for Smile, Supporting children in nursing houses to have a job (巣立ちプロジェクト) and to keep a good network (アトモプロジェクト) with other people. They provide seminars and activities for students. In has some articles explaining about the difficulty of self independence.
児童福祉施設のくらしと子どものこころ (The children from the nursing houses), 心と暮らしの心理学研究所−家庭問題の解決と就職を支援, There are a lot of detailed articles on this page, From the types of the nursing houses and the way to support them after graduating. For example:
自立を控えた児童養護施設の高校生の不安と家族の葛藤 (The hard thinking time about the future for the high school students and also for their families)
Disaster Highlights Plight of Japanese Orphans An overview of the situation of orphaned children, adoption and fostering in Japan after the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami from an American perspective. Time Magazine, 10 Jul 2011.
Japan: Children in Institutions Denied Family Life: Alternative Child Care System Failing Thousands of Children This is a summary of a report by Human Rights Watch Japan, from 1 May 2014,that investigates the Alternative Child Care system and conditions in homes for children not living in families, the difficulties these children have when they leave institutions and start adult life and the situation for orphaned children after the 3.11 disaster. "The report concludes the Japanese government should overhaul its alternative care system, which harms the well-being and healthy development of children and infants, and is contrary to international children’s rights standards." It includes this video
A new law will make it less absurdly hard to adopt orphans in Japan An explanation of a proposed law that is designed to increase adoptions and lead to less children in orphanages, plus a brief overview of the situation of orphans and adoption in Japan. The Economist, 17 Jun 2016.
Japan revamps child welfare, but tens of thousands still institutionalized This article looks briefly at a new law designed to move one third of orphaned children from institutions to adoptive families by 2029, as well as the situation for orphans in japan and the experiences of two mothers who adopted children. Reuters, 28 Jun 2016.
'3keys' NPO founder sheds light on Japan’s poor orphanage conditions This articles looks at the situation inside orphanages in Japan, the attitudes of orphans towards education, and the work of the NGO '3 Keys' to provide educational support for orphans. May 26, 2016. See below for more on 3Keys
3Keys An NGO that provides educational support for orphaned children including their Book for Kids campaign.