2000　"Enactment of the Law on Child Abuse Prevention"

During the 1980s and 1990s, the number of consultations on child abuse in Japan increased rapidly, and there were also a number of child deaths due to abuse. This led to growing criticism that the Ministry of Health and Welfare (at that time) and the child consultation centers were not able to cope with the situation. The Child Welfare Act, which had been in existence at the time, also stipulated the obligation to report cases of child abuse upon discovery, to conduct on-site investigations of suspected abusive families, to take temporary custody of children, and to petition the family court to admit children to institutions. The Ministry of Health and Welfare had initially decided that the Act was sufficient to deal with the situation and that there was no need to amend the Act or to enact a new act. However, the existence of the reporting obligation was not fully recognized by the public, and the Child Consultation Center was reluctant to implement measures such as on-site investigations, which resulted in a lack of operational effectiveness. In 2000, the Diet passed the “Act on Prevention, etc. of Child Abuse” through a bipartisan legislative effort. The Act defines child abuse as "physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and psychological abuse," and stipulates the prohibition of child abuse, the obligation to report child abuse, the responsibilities of the national and local governments for the prevention, early detection, and prevention of child abuse, and measures to protect abused children and support their independence.

Later, the Act on Prevention, etc. of Child Abuse was amended in 2004 and 2007, along with the Child Welfare Act, in order to make it more effective, and was also amended in 2016. The following year, in 2017, the Child Welfare Act was also amended.