Efforts for the prevention of children's accidents

• The Consumer Safety Investigation Commission of Consumer Affairs Agency, Government of Japan, conducted a scientific and objective survey focused on children's physical features and behavioral characteristics.
• Examples of findings from the survey

  "Accidents of airway obstruction by choking on toys in infants" (The report released in November 2017)

  • Infants have physical features such as a size of pharynx, etc. which is smaller than the maximum opening size of mouth.
  • With toys where it seems unlikely that suffocation would occur owing to its size or shape, choking might occur if the toy is mixed with sticky liquid like saliva.

  etc.

• Following the occurrence of children's accidents, more restricted items have been added and the operation has been revised on the basis of the Consumer Product Safety Act.
  Example
  • Following the frequent accidents involving children playing with fire using disposal lighters, lighters were added to the restricted item list in 2010. (Full enforcement in September 2011)
  • Following falling accidents in baby beds that occurred when the baby turned over or grasped the fence to stand, etc., safety standards operation has been revised and precautions for use have been added which state that labelling is obligatory (Implemented in April 2014).
    • It has been indicated to the effect that it is dangerous not to put the front gate back up after use, and an approximate time babies can pull to stand (around 5 months old & over) has been stated.
    • Images have been attached in order to make the users understand easily. etc.

• By having the business operators manufacture products conforming to the standards that stipulate the product quality, performance and safety, etc., consumers can purchase products with a certain level of safety.
• Among the voluntary standards, the JIS is the national standards enacted on the basis of the Industrial Standardization Act.
• Following children's accidents, the new JIS standards have been established.

  Example (The drawstrings of children's clothing)

  Since there were many near incidents in which the drawstrings of children's clothing got entangled on items such as playground equipment, etc., JISL4129 was established in December 2015.

• The business associations, etc. have their own voluntary standards related to product safety. Business operators can indicate with a mark which products conform to the standards.
• Efforts are also being made to widely convey children safety-conscious products to society and to have consumers choose those safe products.

  Example The "Kids Design Award" by Kids Design Association (NPO)

• In the Consumer Affairs Agency's "Recall Information Site", useful information for consumers was collected from the recall information reported by the administrative body of various government ministries and local agencies and voluntary recall information of business operators, and it was consolidated and released to the public.
• Activities to recall products using the "Recall Information Site" are being carried out.
  Example [A collecting project for recalled baby products (Consumer Administration net Chiba )]

  Bulletin boards and lists of recall products were installed in places where children and parents gather.
  There were cases where a survey was carried out asking whether there are recall products at home and it led to start recall procedures.

(Received METI Best Contributors to Product Safety Award in 2017)

• From FY2016, the government established the "the Liaison Conference of the Relevant Ministries and Agencies on the prevention of children's accidents" to share current implementation statuses and to promote collaboration among relevant ministries and agencies.
• Particularly, as a way to strengthen cooperation on the public relations, the "Child Accident Prevention Week" was established in FY2017. Promotion was implemented intensively with a common theme.

• The information for raising awareness for the prevention of consumer accidents and information on recalls are provided via the Consumer Affairs Agency website and the press release and also distributed in line with the official Twitter and Facebook of the Consumer Affairs Agency.
• "Consumer Affairs Agency, Child Injury Prevention! Twitter" started in April 2017. Also, the Prime Minister's official LINE is used according to the content of raising awareness.
• Raising awareness by international joint campaigns as well as providing information is carried out.