The Tokyo chapter of the Japan Legal Aid Association has established a 30 million yen fund to finance the legal protection of children who suffer harassment at school and domestic violence.
While social services aimed specifically to aid victims of parental abuse are already in place, the JLAA fund, set up last month, marks the first attempt to cover all types of abuses of children's human rights.
The people involved in setting up the fund say they hope it makes it easier for social workers at child counseling centers and other child welfare facilities to work together with lawyers to protect children.