October 25, 2025, to communicate the significance of this lawsuit

Symposium

"SOS from the Child Welfare Field!! Questions raised by the Chiba District Court ruling"

was held.

The lecture by Professor Horiba covered the history and current state of child welfare.

I was able to gain a bird's-eye view of the position of this lawsuit.

This lecture is available to watch for free on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=dlFL0ogfh84

The appeal hearing was held at the Tokyo High Court on October 9th.

Despite the event being held in Tokyo, we were encouraged by the large number of people who attended.

At the beginning of the hearing, the attorney representing the plaintiff and Iijima both made statements, criticizing the response of Chiba Prefecture, which filed the appeal, and once again stressing the significance of this lawsuit.

After that, it was expected that both sides would make further rebuttals to their arguments in the appeal hearing, but the court informed us that it intended to end the hearing on the same day.

We had been considering further questioning of Mr. Iijima based on the arguments made in the appeal. We had also finally reached the point where we could find a new expert who would cooperate in the trial. However, although we informed the court of these circumstances, the court did not accept our request, and the trial concluded on the same day, with us being informed that a verdict would be issued at 2:00 p.m. on December 18th.

However, we were later asked if a "settlement" (a resolution through discussion rather than a verdict) was possible before the verdict was announced, and our legal team responded that we would not reject a settlement.

The purpose of this lawsuit is to improve the working environment at child welfare centers, and if Chiba Prefecture promises to ensure sleep late at night, breaks during the day, and training and follow-up for staff, we believe that this goal will be achieved and there is no reason to refuse.

It is not yet clear whether Chiba Prefecture will reach a settlement and take a proactive approach to environmental improvement, or whether it will not settle and go straight to a judgment, but for the time being, settlement negotiations will be held.

Even after the Tokyo High Court's ruling, there is still an opportunity for the case to be heard at the Supreme Court, but the conclusion of the appeal will mark the end of this lawsuit.

We have been able to get this far thanks to all of your support and cooperation.

We appreciate your continued support and cooperation.

After the verdict is announced on December 18th, a press conference is scheduled to be held in the press conference room inside the courthouse.

Although this is not about a lawsuit, the Chiba Bar Association has issued a statement questioning the working conditions at child welfare agencies.

For your reference, please see below.

https://www.chiba-ben.or.jp/opinion/9ecd2aaf09d809928903daf0b268e455d2878f1c.pdf

I'm sorry I haven't been able to update for a long time.

In conclusion, Chiba Prefecture appealed the decision of the Chiba District Court, and the case will be heard (appeal trial) at the Tokyo High Court. Simply put, an appeal is a procedure in which a judge at the Tokyo High Court is asked to review the validity of the decision of the Chiba District Court.

The first hearing will be held on October 9th at 11:00 a.m. in Courtroom 822 of the Tokyo High Court.

On the same day, the defense team is scheduled to make a further rebuttal to Chiba Prefecture's grounds for appeal.

Materials to be used at the appeal hearing, such as Chiba Prefecture's appeal statement and the plaintiff's legal team's rebuttal, will be uploaded after the hearing.

Unfortunately, there will be no regular report meeting on the same day as a press conference will be held after the date.

Instead, a symposium on this lawsuit will be held at the Chiba Bar Association on the afternoon of October 25th. We will post information about this on this page once the details have been finalized.

The ruling was handed down yesterday, but I have heard that Chiba Prefecture appealed the ruling on the same day.

We had hoped that Chiba Prefecture would take its time to consider the contents of the ruling, and we are extremely disappointed that it appealed the ruling on the same day.

In any case, if an appeal is filed, the Tokyo High Court will hear whether to change the Chiba District Court's ruling.

As a result, the lawsuit will continue at the Tokyo High Court, so we would appreciate your continued support.

The court handed down its ruling today, recognizing that rest periods and nap times were working hours and also finding a violation of the duty to take safety precautions, ordering the prefecture to pay wages and compensation.

Regarding the contents of the ruling, Ms. Iijima and her legal team understand that the problems in child welfare office settings have been directly acknowledged, and we believe that a large part of the purpose of filing this lawsuit has been achieved.

Because this lawsuit is a policy-making lawsuit, there was insufficient understanding from society, and I believe the court was also concerned about how society viewed it. We were able to obtain this ruling in our favor thanks solely to the support of everyone, and I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Mr. Iijima and his legal team.

This is breaking news, but I would like to express my thanks in advance.

From 10:00 to around 15:00 on January 29th, the three people - the section chief at the time, the employee at the time, and Mr. Iijima - were questioned.

In the morning, the section chief and staff members were questioned, and in the afternoon, Mr. Iijima was questioned for approximately two hours.

The section chief and other staff members spoke about Iijima's behavior and behaviour, the reality of breaks and night shifts, and the time that was supposed to be "nap time."
Although the testimony of the section chief and staff members contradicted our claims in some parts, they also mentioned that the work was extremely demanding and there was a shortage of staff, and that the working conditions were by no means desirable.

During Iijima's questioning, the process by which his health deteriorated was described.
Ms. Iijima talked about how as soon as she started working, she was tasked with caring for children with difficult circumstances, with barely any idea of how to do it, and how her days were spent only managing the children, rather than caring for them, which left her mentally worn down.

The questioning ended, and the trial was concluded that day (the court procedures were completed), and all that remained was to wait for the verdict.

As Ms. Iijima stated, this lawsuit was not filed to blame any particular person or any particular child protection agency.
Under the current working conditions, child protection agencies are unable to care for children, so this has to be changed.
The aim of this trip was to raise awareness of this issue at a broad level in society and to the government, and to bring about change.

Thanks to the support of many people, Ms. Iijima and her legal team were able to fight all the way to a verdict.
We are deeply grateful.

The outcome of the ruling is still unknown, but depending on the content, there may be an appeal hearing (a hearing at another court called the Tokyo High Court).
As the fight continues, we appreciate your continued support.

Happy new year
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the plaintiffs and their legal team for their tremendous support last year.

This lawsuit is nearing its final stage, and on January 29th, we will hear from Iijima and other related parties (interrogation).
It has been decided.
Since there are only a limited number of procedures that can be carried out after this is concluded, it is expected that a judgment will be made, unless there are circumstances such as a settlement being reached with the prefecture.

Child abuse cases continue to occur and are attracting societal attention.
In order to respond to this, it is essential to improve the staffing and working environment of child consultation centers.
I believe that this lawsuit itself raises the issue of this situation, and I hope that when they look at the content of this lawsuit, the Diet, local assemblies, the national government, local governments, and society at large will work to resolve this issue, not simply as a problem for Ms. Iijima's workplace or as an individual, but as a common problem for child consultation centers across the country.

Mr. Iijima, we hope you will continue to show interest in our legal team and fight alongside us.

Sorry for the late report.
It has been decided that questioning of the relevant parties will take place on Wednesday, January 29th.
Specifically, on January 29th, ① the head of the temporary protection division where Ms. Iijima worked, ② Ms. Iijima’s colleague (senior) at the time
It has been decided that ③ witness questioning will be conducted, and ④ Ms. Iijima herself will be questioned.
An interrogation is a procedure in which the representatives (lawyers) of both the plaintiff and defendant and the judge ask and answer questions to the parties involved.
Therefore, more specific details about the workplace situation will be provided at the January hearing.
We would appreciate your support on the day.

More than two years have passed since this trial began, and it is now nearing its climax.
With today's hearing, questioning (a procedure in which the court hears the testimony of those involved directly) is scheduled to take place on January 29th of next year.
The defense team then refuted the preparatory briefs submitted by Chiba Prefecture (documents containing Chiba Prefecture's arguments), and both sides began preparing for questioning.
During the interrogation, Iijima and other relevant parties will directly speak about the situation at the child protection agency.
Therefore, we would like to ask you to please come to the trial on the day and support Ms. Iijima (private conversations are prohibited during the trial, so we will not actually receive words of support, but even just having a large number of people come to watch will be an encouragement to Ms. Iijima and her defense team).