Japan's School Safety Checks Face a Compliance Gap as 75% of Private Operators Leave Database Unused

Thousands of Private School Operators Have Never Used the Safety Database

Japan requires public and private schools to check a national database before hiring teachers, yet an education ministry survey found that 5,480 private school operators, about 75% of those responding, had never used it. The finding exposes a major gap between a legal safeguard intended to protect children and its use by the organisations responsible for employing teachers.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) surveyed private school operators between May and August 2023. Of 8,164 operators approached, 7,258 responded. Among those respondents, 3,062 had not registered for the database, while another 2,418 had registered but never used it.

The database is meant to help schools identify former teachers who were disciplined or lost their teaching licences because of indecent acts. Checking it before someone is hired gives schools a way to examine relevant disciplinary history before that person returns to work with children.

Many private operators said they did not know that using the database was a legal obligation. Others misunderstood its purpose, believing it was simply a way to check whether a teaching licence was valid. Those explanations point to problems with both awareness of the requirement and understanding of what the system is designed to do.

As of July 12, 2025, Japan also plans a broader screening system for people working with children in 2026. The experience of the existing teacher database shows why creating a checking system and making sure employers actually use it are separate tasks.

What the 2021 Law Requires

Japan enacted the Law on the Prevention of Sexual Violence against Children by Educational Personnel in May 2021. It requires all schools, whether publicly or privately run, to check a national database before hiring teachers so that people previously disciplined or stripped of their teaching licences for indecent acts are not rehired.

The database became operational in fiscal 2023. Its records include the names of former teachers who faced disciplinary action or had their licences revoked because of indecent acts. For a school considering an applicant, the check is intended to bring that history into the hiring decision.

The law also tightened the procedures for reissuing teaching licences to people previously disciplined for sexual misconduct. Revoking a licence removes a person's permission to teach; stricter rules for issuing another licence are intended to make it harder for someone with such a history to return to a classroom.

Public education boards register for the database on behalf of public schools. Private school corporations, the organisations responsible for running private institutions, must register and use it as part of their own hiring procedures. The legal requirement applies across both sectors, even though responsibility for carrying it out rests with different bodies.

Registration Is Only the First Step

The ministry's figures show two distinct problems among private school corporations. The 3,062 operators that had not registered lacked the access needed to carry out a check. The 2,418 that had registered but never used the system had completed the initial administrative step without putting it into practice.

Together, those groups account for 5,480 of the 7,258 respondents, or roughly three in every four. The survey therefore identifies a much wider problem than a shortage of registrations alone: a substantial number of organisations had access but had not searched the database.

A teaching licence check and a disciplinary history check answer different questions. A licence check concerns whether a person has the qualification needed to teach. The national database is intended to help schools identify a history of sexual misconduct that matters when deciding whether someone should work with children.

Some operators confused those purposes. Their responses show why instructions must explain both the duty to use the system and the information a school is expected to examine. Simply telling an operator that a database exists leaves room for misunderstanding about when and why to consult it.

Why Private Schools Have Fallen Behind

Private school operators cited a lack of awareness of the law and confusion about the database's function. Local authorities responsible for overseeing private schools also face limits on the staff and resources available to guide institutions through new legal requirements.

Private schools operate with considerable independence and are often managed by school corporations. They may not have the same level of oversight or resources as public institutions. That independence can support different educational approaches, but it can also leave gaps when important safety requirements need to be put into routine practice.

Takashi Sakata, a professor at Shukutoku University and an expert on school compliance, connected the problem to limited local staffing. He also called for the national government to consider publicly identifying corporations that are not using the system.

Municipalities lack sufficient personnel to guide private schools on compliance with laws and regulations. The national government should encourage schools to take action, such as publicly disclosing the names of school corporations that are not using the database.

Sakata's proposal would make an operator's use of the database more visible. For families choosing a school, the underlying issue is concrete: whether the organisation has carried out the required check before employing a teacher who will work with their children.

Private schools have a substantial place in Japan's education system. They provide alternative curricula, religious instruction and specialised programmes, and are often regarded as prestigious institutions attracting students from varied backgrounds. Their educational independence makes reliable compliance with common safety duties especially important.

Public Schools Also Face an Oversight Question

All public education boards have registered for the database. However, the education ministry has not confirmed whether they consistently use it for every applicant during hiring. Registration across the public sector therefore leaves a further task: checking whether searches are actually part of each recruitment process.

Public and private institutions face the same responsibility to protect students, but the survey reveals different weaknesses in how the system is being implemented. Private operators include large numbers that have never registered or searched. In the public sector, the unanswered question concerns consistent use after registration.

The practical requirement is a check at the point when it can affect a hiring decision. A system can contain relevant records and still leave children exposed to risk if the organisation recruiting a teacher does not consult those records.

For authorities overseeing schools, that means monitoring needs to cover what happens during recruitment as well as whether an institution has an account. The ministry's lack of confirmation about public schools makes uniform implementation an issue across the education system, rather than a concern confined to private institutions.

Recent Arrests Add Urgency

In June, Aichi prefectural police arrested two teachers working at city run elementary schools in Nagoya and Yokohama. They were suspected of taking indecent photographs of girls and sharing them on social media among teachers.

The arrests involved allegations, and the teachers were described as suspects. The case added to public concern about misconduct in schools and pressure on authorities to ensure that institutions take every possible step to protect pupils.

Both public and private schools have experienced similar scandals in recent years. For children and families, the consequences of a failure to protect pupils are immediate and personal, while responsibility for prevention is spread across schools, their operators and government bodies.

The database addresses one part of that responsibility: preventing people with a recorded history of relevant misconduct from returning to teaching. Recent incidents have increased the urgency of making that existing safeguard work consistently wherever teachers are hired.

A Wider Screening System Is Planned for 2026

Japan plans to launch a broader system in 2026, described as a Japanese version of the United Kingdom's Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). It would extend checks beyond teachers to people working in other jobs involving children.

Under the planned system, businesses would be able to refer to the Justice Ministry's database through the Children and Families Agency. The aim is to allow wider checks of criminal histories involving sexual offences among people working with children.

The existing teacher database and the planned broader system concern related areas of child protection. The teacher database records disciplinary action and licence revocation, while the planned expansion would provide access to relevant criminal history for a wider range of employment.

Japan's main steps, and the implementation problems identified along the way, can be set out in a short timeline:

• May 2021: Japan enacted the Law on the Prevention of Sexual Violence against Children by Educational Personnel, requiring checks before teachers are hired and tightening procedures for reissuing licences.
• Fiscal 2023: The national database of former teachers disciplined or stripped of their licences for indecent acts became operational.
• May to August 2023: MEXT surveyed private school operators, receiving 7,258 responses from 8,164 organisations approached.
• June: Aichi prefectural police arrested two elementary school teachers in Nagoya and Yokohama on suspicion of taking and sharing indecent photographs of girls.
• 2026: Japan plans to introduce broader screening for people working with children through its version of the DBS.

How Overseas Checks Compare

Japan's database approach is modelled on the United Kingdom's DBS, which allows organisations to check the criminal backgrounds of people working with children or vulnerable groups. Employers can check whether a person has a criminal record or is barred from working with children.

The British service is widely regarded as a leading model for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. Its role combines access to criminal history with information about whether someone is prohibited from taking certain work, giving employers relevant information before making an appointment.

The United States and Australia also use background checks in education and other work involving children. Most US states require checks based on fingerprints for teachers, and some maintain databases of educators who have faced disciplinary action.

Australia requires a Working with Children Check for people working with children, including teachers, coaches and volunteers. That broader scope is relevant to Japan's planned expansion beyond the teaching profession.

Japan's move towards wider screening follows this international approach to checking people before they enter roles involving children. The low use of the current private school database shows that the protection offered by such a system also depends on employers understanding their duties and carrying them out.

What Authorities and School Operators Need to Address

The education ministry responded to the survey by issuing a notice through prefectures and designated cities, urging private schools to make thorough use of the database. The effect of those reminders has yet to be established.

Experts and advocates have called for clearer guidance and training so that school operators understand the legal obligation and the purpose of the check. Training would need to address the misunderstanding identified in the survey, including the belief that the system is only for confirming licence validity.

Stronger monitoring is another proposed response. Municipalities and the national government have been urged to increase oversight, with public disclosure of corporations that are not using the database among the suggested measures. Making the system easier to access and use has also been proposed as a way to encourage compliance.

The planned extension to other jobs involving children would broaden coverage. Its value will depend in part on the same practical matters highlighted by the teacher survey: whether employers register, understand what they must check and carry out searches when considering applicants.

Private education also faces a wider question of accountability. Schools need room to run their educational programmes, while families need confidence that every institution meets its legal and ethical safety duties. When an operator fails to use a required safeguard, public trust in both the school and the education system is put at risk.

Government agencies, school operators and the wider community each have a role in protecting children. Japan has created a tool intended to prevent repeat offenders from returning to classrooms. The immediate challenge is ensuring that the people responsible for hiring teachers use it effectively and consistently.

Key Points

• Japan's May 2021 law requires public and private schools to check a national database before hiring teachers.
• The database began operating in fiscal 2023 and records former teachers disciplined or stripped of their licences for indecent acts.
• MEXT received responses from 7,258 private school operators; 5,480, about 75%, had never used the database.
• Among respondents, 3,062 had not registered and 2,418 had registered without using it.
• Operators cited lack of awareness and confusion about the database's purpose.
• All public education boards have registered, but consistent use for every applicant has not been confirmed.
• The ministry has urged greater use, while proposals include training, stronger monitoring, easier access and public disclosure of operators that do not use the system.
• Japan plans broader checks of criminal histories involving sexual offences for people working with children in 2026.