A few weeks ago news outlets were all over a story about the death of an infant who had been placed in the care of a young freelance babysitter. The media was quick to blame the mother, at least by implication, since she had found the man through an Internet portal site that matched people who needed babysitters with people who provided such services. Many of these providers seem to be unlicensed, but babysitting as a job description is relatively new to Japan.

What seemed unusual in this case — though it's actually quite common — is that the two boys the mother left with the man were watched at the man's apartment in Saitama Prefecture, rather than at the woman's residence in Yokohama, which is normally the way babysitting works. In the woman's defense, some media pointed out that she had used the man as a babysitter previously and didn't trust him, but because he used a different name this time she wasn't aware she was leaving her children in his care.

However irresponsible the woman was in this situation, the fact is that there is an increasing number of parents who rely on such services. The Internet portal site that the woman used has 10,000 registered users and 6,000 registered sitters. The paucity of daycare services in Japan is a well-covered issue, and some parents can't wait for the government or the private sector to rectify the situation, especially if they have infants and toddlers, which conventional daycare centers don't usually accept anyway.