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On November 1, 2019, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held an exchange of views with individuals working on the prevention of child abuse and of domestic violence, at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
The Prime Minister said in his address,
 
“Thank you very much for gathering here so early in the morning, despite your very busy schedules. I would like to express my respect for your tremendous contributions to prevent child abuse as well as domestic violence.
 
It is truly regrettable that we continue to see painful and tragic incidents of abuse claim young lives. It is the responsibility of all of us grown-ups to protect children from abuse and to protect their lives.
 
To that end, as was mentioned a moment ago, the Government intends to increase the number of child welfare officers to 5,000, an increase of 2,000, and fundamentally strengthen the structure of child guidance centers.
 
In addition, as was also touched upon today, it has become clear that there is a close link between domestic violence against women and child abuse. With that connection having been pointed out, I reaffirmed that, to strengthen our child-abuse prevention measures, information sharing with offices working on domestic-violence prevention in each jurisdiction and collaborative responses between the two offices are an issue of utmost urgency and we no longer have any time to lose.
 
Along that line of thinking, today, all members of the Cabinet are wearing a W (double) Ribbon Badge, which is composed of two ribbons: an orange one that represents child abuse prevention measures and a purple one that represents the eradication of all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence. I hope that more people will become aware of this issue through this opportunity.
 
Regarding the prevention of domestic violence, private, community-based shelters play extremely significant roles as refuges for women who are the victims of abuse. The Government intends to launch a new project for next fiscal year, aiming at the promotion of such pioneering initiatives from the private sector.
 
We also intend to further strengthen collaboration between child guidance centers and the relevant organizations, including counseling and support centers for spousal violence. Today, you shared with us your thoughts based on valuable, firsthand experiences. The Government intends to implement policies that fully take into account these valuable, firsthand experiences and exert every effort to eradicate domestic violence and protect the lives of children.”