Japan camp expert advises parents on keeping kids safe from harassment, abuse at sites

TOKYO — Lots of families in Japan send their children to camps hosted by outdoor activity groups over the summer holidays. While it can be a pivotal experience for kids to be apart from their parents and surrounded by nature, camps can also be a hotbed of harassment or worse.

What should participants watch out for? The Mainichi Shimbun asked the Camping Association of Tokyo’s Executive Director Shigekazu Sato, 53, who has over 30 years of experience as a camp counselor.

Good experiences and bad

The content of camps varies by host organization, but in addition to programs welcoming individuals, families and groups, some offer overnight experiences for preschool- or elementary school-age children.

At programs where kids are not accompanied by parents, participants work with others in an environment without electricity or gas and gain invaluable experiences such as making meals or spending the night in tents.

By being placed in a different environment, many children gain fresh insight into their potential or discover new interests. Sato said that camps help to raise kids’ “zest for life.”

However, not everyone has good experiences. According to Sato, camps provide many unfamiliar activities for participants and tend to prioritize the positions of those on the teaching side.

In some cases, experienced instructors have reportedly been verbally abusive or told dirty jokes, and were not stopped by peers. Sato recalled, “I’ve seen unfortunate examples of harassment, such as imposing a gendered division of labor and saying lewd things.”

In 2017, people including a former travel agency employee and an elementary school substitute teacher were arrested for alleged behavior including removing boy campers’ clothes and taking photos of them in violation of the anti-child prostitution and child pornography act. In 2023, a then city assembly member in Osaka Prefecture was arrested for allegedly touching girls’ bodies, among other things, at the campsite he hosted, in violation of laws against indecency through compulsion.

Special cases for camp

Sato emphasized that characteristics peculiar to camps underlie cases of harassment and abuse.

Aside from the hierarchical relationships that form due to the gap in experience and knowledge between counselors and kids, in some cases children cannot recognize what happened as abuse, or tend to tolerate things in the belief that camp is “just like that” as group harmony and atmosphere take precedence. And so it can be hard to complain after camp is over.

Sato emphasized, “First, it’s important for organizers to understand the actual situation and, by doing things like creating guidelines, convey the mindset that harassment will not be tolerated. Then, it’s essential to check whether any participants are anxious or distrustful, and to create environments where it’s easy for them to bring up any problems. I recommend that participants check whether camps provide such support properly.”

Consulting for complaints is provided at the children’s camps run by Tokyo-based nonprofit National Outfitters Training School, where Sato is a director.

Moreover, for camps held by groups such as a children’s or neighborhood association, Sato said it is good to discuss in advance what to do in case of trouble and inform the campers.

Preventing sexual assaults

How can serious sexual victimization be prevented? Sato said, “Insofar as it’s possible, environments should not be created where an adult is left alone with a single child, and it is crucial to behave so as to avoid any misunderstandings.”

In concrete terms, this includes measures such as having two adults accompany children who need to go to the bathroom at night, having separate tents for adults and children, and reducing smartphone use during activities to prevent the taking of voyeuristic photos.

Sato said that it is also a good idea for participants to check beforehand if hosts have such measures in place.

Camps have been returning slowly since the government downgraded the status of the coronavirus to the same as the seasonal flu. “With the right measures and counseling services in place, camp can be a really good experience for children. I’d like them to enjoy it while minding the heat,” Sato said.

(Japanese original by Yuta Hiratsuka, Digital News Group)