Japan to probe nurseries after abuse of toddlers

The government said Tuesday it would look into child mistreatment cases at nurseries across the country and how municipalities handled them, following the arrest of three kindergarten teachers in central Japan for abusing toddlers.

The case at the nursery in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, highlighted the municipality's late disclosure and the nursery head's alleged coverups, is extremely regrettable and should not have happened, health minister Katsunobu Kato told a press conference.

The three women were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of committing abuse toward children in June, such as hitting the toddlers and hanging them upside down by their feet.

Susono's mayor accused the head of the nursery of covering up the abuse, suspecting that he made all school teachers write an oath to keep the abusive behavior secret and intentionally delayed the announcement of the incident to parents.

The nursery's head did not report to city authorities or police despite a whistleblower coming forward from June to July claiming abuse had been committed by some of the teachers, a source close to the municipal government has said.

The case was disclosed last week, more than three months after the city government received a tip about abuse allegations in mid-August, and critics have criticised it for its slow response.

The central government is looking into mistreatment cases at nurseries and whether municipalities are responding to allegations through a probe that is expected to be completed by the end of the year.