‘Like a prison’: Father enraged by abusive staff at east Japan day care

KUMAGAYA, Saitama — The father of a child who attends a day care center here that has been accused of psychologically abusing children and treating them inappropriately says recordings of the voices of staff create the impression that the facility was “like a prison.”

Telling children that they had bad DNA was just one example of staff members’ verbal abuse of children at Yoshimi day care in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture. Amid growing suspicions of possible mistreatment at the facility, the father had his child bring a recorder to the day care to capture the voices of staff.

After finding out that workers had hurled verbal abuse at children, the father alerted the Kumagaya Municipal Government about his findings. During an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun, the father reflected, “It’s like a prison. I felt that this is not a day care facility.”

It emerged on Nov. 29 that the facility’s director, the chief day care staffer and others had psychologically abused children aged under 2 years old, including those under the age of 1, by yelling at them, among other treatment. After receiving the recording from the father, the Kumagaya Municipal Government’s day care division took emergency action, removing the director and chief day care staffer from their work attending to children.

With regard to the discriminatory remarks attributing a child’s behavior to their parents’ DNA, the father fumed, “Aren’t they aware they’ve infringed on a person’s human rights?”

On Dec. 9, the day care director reportedly told parents and guardians, “We’ve responded desperately to prevent accidents. I suppose you won’t believe me no matter what I say, but I’ve reflected thoroughly on what has happened. I’m sorry.”

The municipal government will hold a briefing session for parents and guardians. There are growing concerns among parents, with one asserting, “There are other staffers involved (in the abuse),” and another wondering if similar incidents had taken place in other classes.

The municipal government’s day care division refrained from revealing the details of the abuse and the recordings, saying, “We’re in the process of checking the facts.”

Located in the former town of Osato, the day care center opened in 2015. It has 21 workers including the director and chief day care staffer. A total of 59 children attend the facility, grouped into three classes.

(Japanese original by Hirohiko Kumamoto, Kumagaya Bureau)