일본에서 사회보장의 아동복지에 관한 연구

Abstract

The Child Welfare Act aims to ensure the welfare of children so that they can be born healthy and grow up happily and safely. Japan's right to social security has been developed through the reorganization of various social security law-related systems, and the Child Welfare Act has also been institutionalized through various efforts to actively respond to society's demand for child welfare. Therefore, in this study, we would like to examine the Child Welfare Act among Japan's social security rights and find its implications for Korea.
 In accordance with the Child Welfare Act, Japan operates premature birth facilities, nursing care children's facilities, disabled child detention facilities, and maternal and child support facilities for pregnant women, and also introduces a foster parent system. Public involvement in the operation of facilities is high, and the role and responsibility of the state, metropolitan local governments, and basic local governments are clarified for the installation or operation of facilities and the implementation of child protection policies. In addition, in order to efficiently and integrally promote child welfare-related policies, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare established the Child and Family Office in April 2023 for child abuse and transferred it to the direct agency of the Prime Minister.
 Child welfare in Korea is similar to Japan, but there is no dedicated department that acts as a control tower to oversee child welfare because ministries are separated from child welfare targets such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the Ministry of Education. Children's guardians should raise children healthy and safe at home according to the developmental stage, and the state and local governments should take necessary measures to prevent children from being discriminated against, such as religion, property, or disability of their parents. In order to realize such child welfare, it is urgent to establish an integrated dedicated department, expand child protection facilities, and overhaul a careful and balanced system to implement effective policies suitable for changes in social structure. In this respect, the establishment of the Child and Family Agency in Japan has great implications for Korea.