[Nyororin]

I also can`t find a lot of what I posted in the past, so here goes.

Where do unwanted children go? can they be adopted or fostered? we hear a lot about international adoptions from many countries.

Regarding orphanages;

"In general actual orphans usually end up living with family - aunts, uncles, older siblings, grandparents, etc. As blood ties are considered most important, most people who are unable to have children invest huge amounts of time and money into trying... But don`t consider adoption.

Most of the children in Japanese "orphanages" aren`t orphans at all, but children who are there temporarily - at least on paper. It is VERY rare for a parent to give up rights to their child. Instead, they put them in a home if they are unable to raise them with the ultimate goal (again, on paper) of coming back to get them once the living situation has changed. Does that always happen? No, but as they do not give the children up there are very few opportunities for another family to take the child.

Is it technically possible to adopt? Yes. But as there is not really any sort of adoption policy, it is difficult for someone even living in Japan. Babies are simply not up for adoption to begin with - I think the starting age that Japanese law allows a Japanese child to be put up for adoption at is 3... But of course, as there isn`t a strong policy to begin with, I`m sure there are exceptions.

I`ve known 2 girls in the US who were supposedly adopted from Japan... They were both actually Korean, but were just adopted via Japan. "

Orphanages in Japan;

Generally, they aren`t "orphanages". They`re sort of childcare centers. As children who lose their parents (true orphans) almost always go to live with a relative - most of the children in care are put there by parents who do not feel they can raise them. There is no "giving up" the child - they are just placed in the home "temporarily" until the parents can resume care. Sometimes the parents never resume care and the child is raised entirely in the center... But that isn`t really the goal or purpose of the centers.

I would say that in the majority of cases, children are taken in by relatives even when it is just a case of the parents not wanting to care for the child.

Japan does not have an international adoption policy. It doesn`t even really have a domestic adoption policy. It is virtually impossible to give a child up. The state does not take over parental rights - they stay with the parents until the parent either dies (automatically shifted to the next blood relative, if I recall correctly), or the parent finds someone who wants to adopt and transfers the rights to them. In other words, there are no children without guardians. Children can be removed from the care of their parents, put into a center to protect them, but in the end - the actual guardian rights remain with the parent. The state can intervene to make sure the parent does not harm the child - but it cannot grant the rights to another person without parental consent. As blood ties are incredibly important in Japan, it is rare that a parent (regardless of their situation) will agree to allow their child to be raised as someone else's. In the same way, it is rare for someone to want to raise a child that is not related in some way.

I do not believe that the care centers are "hidden away", really - but more that they aren`t advertised as such. One girl I went to school with was staying at a care center... But talked about it as a temporary home. Her mother died and her father had multiple business trips each year preventing him from really "parenting" (in my understanding - she wasn`t really too talkative about the subject and I didn`t ask, so it is mostly what I heard through others.) She would spend several months living with her father when he was in town, and the rest of the time in temporary housing.
I also know a woman in my building who spent 3 or 4 years of her childhood in one when her mother became depressed after having her younger sister. When her mother recovered, she went home, and things went back to "normal".

It would be a disservice to those who are in that system to advertise the fact that they are receiving some kind of care service when it truly may only be a short term sort of thing.

Also is Abortion Legal in Japan?

Legal, but not simple and easy.

A past post regarding abortions - probably the one you are thinking of from me;

"Regarding abortion in Japan.

It is NOT as simple and easy as things seem to make it look. I had to have one the end of last year for medical reasons... (ie. the baby had attached at the opening to the right fallopian tube due to severe uterine scarring caused by the horrific events of my last pregnancy.)

You would think that with the opinion of two different doctors being that there was virtually no chance of the baby surviving, and that to leave it past the 10th week or so would be risking my life... That getting a procedure done would be easy.

It`s not. Japan has some very strict policies on getting abortions the normal route. First, no major hospitals perform them. There is a policy of "save the life at all costs" in normal hospitals. They are only done by private clinics unless the death of the mother is eminent. You NEED the permission of the father. He has to fill out a number of forms and identify himself as the father. In the case that he cannot be located, I was told that the parents would have to be notified. This was regardless of age and I believe it had something to do with potential complications. I also had to present my "reasons" for the procedure. There was also a minimum week wait. No religious hoops, but still hoops all the same.

There are indeed women who are turned away because they cannot go through the hoops. In the past it was fairly common for a regular obstetrician to offer it as part of their services, but there has been a huge crackdown on those who did this without going through the proper paperwork. Now there are a handful of obstetricians offering the service and many dedicated clinics. (There are doctors who still offer it secretly, but once the rumor goes out they tend to be cracked down on pretty promptly. From what I`ve heard, for not going through the hoops they would charge twice the regular fee.)

In my case we chose to go to a private clinic to have the procedure done because the hospital would only do so once my life was in direct danger. To me, personally, removing a tiny speck and removing a formed baby are very different things regardless of the necessity. We found a private clinic and paid out of pocket. (Insurance would only cover it once it was deemed necessary to save my life.)

Which brings me to another point. It is expensive. I don`t know what it costs in other countries, but it was a 400,000yen deal for us. This is NOT the type of money you can just come up with out of the blue, especially if you`re young and are keeping it a secret from your parents. "

Regarding the general welfare system in Japan -
There is an incredible amount of support for people with disabilities, and for people in poor financial situations. You just need to apply for it (nothing is automatically given to you).
There is nowhere near the numbers of people dependent upon these services though, as society and expectations are quite a bit different than in the US (and apparently the UK).

Support for single parents who are below the poverty line is amazing, in my opinion. They will provide you with housing (usually in direct vicinity of a preschool or elementary school), take care of over half of the utility costs, have food provided (usually from the same services that provide school lunches), and give employment support. The system tends to be very hands on, so I think there are fewer opportunities for it to be abused.
Of course, because of the way society is, there are fewer people using the system to begin with. Single parents tend to be much rarer, and there tends to be a net of family support when there are difficulties with income.

Also - there is very little drug use in Japan, so a distinct lack of addicts using government support.