Outline of Investigative Report and Proposals
regarding the Collection and Utilization ofInformation concerning Accidents at
Educational/Childcare Facilities, Etc.

November, 2014
The Consumer Commission
The Consumer Commission

Table of Contents

1. The Current Situation regarding Accidents at Educational/Childcare Facilities, Etc.・・・・・・・1
2. Issues regarding the Collection and Utilization of Accident Information・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・2
3. Proposal Item (1): The Collection of Accident Information・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・3
4. Proposal Item (2): The Analysis and Utilization of Accident Information・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・4

1. The Current Situation regarding Accidents at Educational/Childcare Facilities, Etc.
 At educational/childcare facilities1 such as daycare centers and kindergartens, serious accidents,
including those in which children die, never cease2.
1. The educational/childcare facilities, etc. included in the Commission's proposals on this occasion consist of authorized children's centers, kindergartens,
daycare centers, after-school children's clubs, after-school children's classes, family support center businesses, local childcare businesses, unauthorizedchildcare facilities, and babysitting businesses.
[Examples of Fatal Accidents]
2. Cases outside of consumer accidents, etc. are also included.

(1) No. of Accidents at Daycare Centers, Etc.
(Based on materials released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

2010

2011

2012

2013

582
126
12

4
15

Total
1747

33
567
8110
17135
8345
38

Total
51
89145
(2) No. of Accidents at After-School Children's Clubs

162447

YearDeaths
Injuries, etc.
of at least 30days

Authorized childcare centers
Unauthorized childcarefacilities
Authorized childcare centers
Unauthorized childcare
facilities• During a nap at a childcare center, a child entered a stateof cardiopulmonary arrest; the child's death was verified at
the hospital he/she was transported to.
• While playing in the river at an overnight childcare event
for a kindergarten, a child was swept into sudden highwater and died.
• At a childcare center, a rice-flour dumpling became caught
in a child's throat, leading to death.

(Based on materials released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

PeriodOctober 2010 –September 2011

January- December
2012

January-December
2013

Total

Deaths1102

Injuries, etc. ofat least 30 days

260

228

218706

Total

261

229

218

708

(3) No. of Accidents at Kindergartens(Based on materials released by the National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health)Fiscal Year
DeathsInjuries
Total

2010
01616

2014/12/15

2011
022

2012
156

2013
-Total12324[Accidents Accompanied by Injuries or Illnesses
Requiring at Least 30 Days of Medical Treatment]• When a child clambered up a children's pool that had been
set up at a kindergarten, the pool collapsed and the childstruck his/her head, leading to a state of unconsciousness.
• A child was found floating face-down in a pool at akindergarten. This was a serious condition of temporary
cardiopulmonary arrest.
(Based on materials released by the Consumer Affairs Agency anddata from the “Accident Information Databank”)

The Consumer Commission

2. Issues regarding the Collection and Utilization of Accident Information
Notifications to the Consumer Affairs Agency based on the Consumer Safety Act are not being properly conducted, and accident
information is not being aggregated at the Consumer Affairs Agency. In order to take measures to prevent the expansion andreoccurrence of harm, the proper aggregation and sharing of information is necessary as a prerequisite.
The Situation regarding the Notification of Information concerning Accidents at Educational/Childcare Facilities, Etc. from theMinistry of Health, Labour and Welfare; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; and Local Public Bodies to theConsumer Affairs Agency

Consumer Affairs Agency
Nonotifications

2 items

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

447
items
*December 2009December 2013

1 itemMinistry of Education, Culture,Sports, Science and Technology

708 items(After-School Children’s Clubs)

Key: Red boxes denote organizations with aduty to provide notification of accident
information based on the Consumer Safety Act.
• Red arrows denote notifications of accident
information based on the Consumer SafetyAct.
• White arrows denote reports of accident
information at the request of the ministry ofjurisdiction.
*With regard to notification numbers, items with1 itemno special annotation are from fiscal years 2010
to 2013.

*October 2010December 2013

*Among unauthorized childcare facilities, thereare some locations that are not grasped by theLocal Public Bodies

government. Accident information at suchlocations has not been collected.

Childcare Centers,
Unauthorized Childcare
Facilities*

After-School Children's
Clubs, Family SupportCenter Businesses

Kindergartens

Babysitters (no system of reporting)2014/12/15

The Consumer Commission

3. Proposal Item (1): The Collection of Accident Information
The Current Situation andIssues• It is necessary to reliably work toward enforcing thecollection of accident information under the New
System of Support for Children and Childrearing.

Proposal Items(1) Toward the enforcement of the New System of Support for Children andChildrearing (hereinafter the "New System"), the Cabinet Office; the Ministry ofEducation, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; and the Ministry of Health,Labour and Welfare (hereinafter the "Relevant Government Ministries") should, atconsideration sessions organized by the Relevant Government Ministries regarding
measures to prevent the recurrence of serious accidents at educational/childcare
facilities, etc., (hereinafter "Accident Recurrence Prevention Consideration Sessions")
receive the assistance of the Consumer Affairs Agency and conduct considerations thatinclude a notification system based upon the Consumer Safety Act when considering anaccident information collection structure.

• The business situation is not adequately grasped andaccident information is not being properly collected
for small-scale, unauthorized childcare facilities not
subject to reporting or for babysitting businesses.
• There is no accident information collection structure
for babysitting businesses.

(2) The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare should create a structure to properly
collect accident information for babysitting businesses, for which there is no accident
information collection structure, as well as small-scale, unauthorized childcare facilities,
for which the business situation is not adequately grasped.

• With regard to educational/childcare facilities, etc.,
there is a gap between the number of accidents
grasped by the Consumer Affairs Agency and thenumber of accidents grasped by the Ministry ofHealth, Labour and Welfare and the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The notification of accident information based on theConsumer Safety Act is not being properlyconducted, and accident information is not being
consolidated at the Consumer Affairs Agency.
• The meaning of the Consumer Safety Act, thataccident information should be consolidated at theConsumer Affairs Agency and the entire government
should endeavor toward recurrence prevention, is notadequately understood by the two ministries andlocal public bodies.

(3) With regard to the system of providing notification of accident information based on
the Consumer Safety Act, the Consumer Affairs Agency should continuously make theRelevant Government Ministries aware of the scope and notification methods ofinformation regarding accidents at educational/childcare facilities, etc. for which theyshould notify the Consumer Affairs Agency, and they should urge notification whennecessary.
Further, the Relevant Government Ministries should make efforts such that when
consumer accidents, etc. have occurred at educational/childcare facilities, etc., thenotification of the accident information to the Consumer Affairs Agency based upon theConsumer Safety Act is conducted without fail.
Toward that end, with regard to the notification of accident information when
consumer accidents, etc. subject to notification have occurred, the Relevant Government
Ministries should conduct considerations that include the methods for the departmentsof local public bodies in charge of educational/childcare facilities to notify theConsumer Affairs Agency via the government ministry of jurisdiction. In addition,
cooperation regarding the reporting of accident information should be requested of
educational/childcare facilities, etc. via local public bodies.

The Consumer Commission

4. Proposal Item (2): The Analysis and Utilization of Accident Information
The Current Situation and Issues• The release of accident information andcorresponding calls for attention by the Relevant
Government Ministries are limited, and these actions
are lacking in promptness and concreteness; thus,from the perspective of recurrence prevention, they
are difficult to utilize at sites.
• It is necessary to deliver information to all
educational/childcare facilities, and to households
raising children as well.

• The Consumer Affairs Agency's "Accident
Information Databank" and "Child Safety Mail" arenot recognized at sites of education, childcare, etc.,
and are not being utilized.
• At Accident Recurrence Prevention Consideration
Sessions, considerations for database compilation
centered mainly on information that has already been
aggregated are being conducted for the release,
analysis, etc. of aggregated information.
• There are cases in which inspections are notconducted, even when fatal accidents have occurredat educational/childcare facilities, etc.
• In cases in which fatal or serious accidents haveoccurred, there are two requests: to specify the causesof occurrence for individual accidents and disclose
these to the victims' families, and to analyze similar
accidents and, upon clarifying the important points
for recurrence prevention, share the information
nationwide.

Proposal Items(1) In order to accurately grasp the needs of sites regarding accident information, theRelevant Government Ministries should include the managing bodies of facilities, local
public bodies, etc. and conduct considerations, and even after the enforcement of theNew System, they should continuously conduct considerations and aim forimprovement.
(2) Regarding information such as knowledge for recurrence prevention and calls forattention, the Relevant Government Ministries should give feedback to all
educational/childcare facilities, etc., including those not migrating to the New System.
Further, bearing in mind the fact that accidents occurring at educational/childcare
facilities, etc. could also occur in households, the Consumer Affairs Agency should
endeavor to deliver information to households raising children as well.
(3) The Consumer Affairs Agency should receive the assistance of the Relevant
Government Ministries and make local public bodies aware that the "Accident
Information Databank" can be utilized for the creation of materials, etc. to give calls forattention. With regard to "Child Safety Mail," push-type information transmission
should be promoted, such as encouraging childcare workers and households raisingchildren to register.
(4) In the database compilation of accident information being considered at Accident
Recurrence Prevention Consideration Sessions, the Relevant Government Ministries
should conduct considerations that include the utilization of existing databases, such as
the Consumer Affairs Agency's “Accident Information Databank.”(5) Based on the fact that there are two requests regarding the inspection of consumer
accidents, etc. at educational/childcare institutions, etc. (to inspect individual accidents
and to gain knowledge for the prevention of further harm and recurrence), the Relevant
Government Ministries and the Consumer Affairs Agency should conductconsiderations aimed at the creation of a proper inspection system that can achieve eachobjective.

The Consumer Commission