A bill for a new system blocking convicted sex offenders from jobs involving children will not be submitted in an extraordinary parliamentary session expected next month, a government source said Saturday.
The decision to drop the plan comes after a slew of criticism from within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of the bill's contents, including that more professions should be subject to the system.
The government now aims to present the bill at an ordinary Diet session next year, with the intervening period to be used to review expanding the scope of jobs affected. Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of child policies, is expected to announce the delay soon, the source said.
The bill proposing the system referred to as the "Japanese DBS" is similar to the British government's Disclosure and Barring Service certificate. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has billed the legislation as a key policy from the Children and Families Agency established last April.
In Japan, the licensing for teachers and child care workers is overseen by different government offices, making it difficult for authorities to prevent a person with a history of sex crimes from switching between professions involving children.
A ministry panel made proposals earlier in the month for the draft bill.
An LDP panel said the system would not be effective if only day nurseries and schools are required to use the system but not cram schools and after-school childcare centers as proposed.
The party panel members also opposed a proposal that a time limit should be set for how far back records of sex crimes can be available for the system.
Parent and child support groups have been lobbying for the system's establishment. The government has been discussing its response to the issue since two men registered with a babysitter matching app were separately arrested in 2020 for sexually assaulting children in their care.
Kato said she intends to "make progress while carefully listening to a variety of views" when asked about the prospects for the legislation at her first press conference after she assumed the post last week.
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Japan aims to block sex offenders from jobs in schools, child care
