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).

First, the plaintiffs presented their case.

Based on recent data, we mentioned labor management problems such as the cutting of overtime pay, and the critical situation at Chiba Prefecture's child consultation centers, where children are staying for long periods of time and the admission rate is high, despite a decrease in the number of employees hired, a high number of resignations, and an increase in the number of people receiving long-term care.

At the hearing, the defendant stated that the plaintiff's admissions and denials were unclear and insufficient, even though the defendant itself had not admitted or denied the plaintiff's preparatory documents. As a result, it was decided that both parties would clarify their admissions and denials again at the next hearing.

The eighth hearing was held on April 10th of this year.
The composition of the judicial body has changed due to the transfer (shuffle) of a judge (put simply, the members have changed).
The defendant, Chiba Prefecture, presented a preparatory document, and it was agreed that the plaintiff's side would respond to the explanations (questions) contained in the document by the next hearing.

As of today, several preparatory briefs (documents outlining the points that each party wishes to assert) have been submitted by both sides, so I believe that the points that each party will assert going forward will be largely limited.
In other words, we may reach the stage this year where we will be listening to the stories of child protection agencies and Ms. Iijima.

The 7th deadline was on January 17th this year.

The plaintiff's fourth preliminary document was treated as a statement, and the plaintiff's attorney made a statement of opinion.

(Please see the litigation materials page for details).

In the opinion statement, Chiba Prefecture's poor management of working hours was mentioned.

was emphasized.

Chiba Prefecture will now submit further rebuttal documents by the next deadline.

It is expected that the points at issue will be narrowed down depending on the content of Chiba Prefecture's response.

Everyone who supported and cheered me on.

Happy new year
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the plaintiffs and their defense team for their tremendous support last year.
Additionally, during the reporting session after the trial, I received many hints and encouragement from the participants.

Incidents of child abuse continue to occur to the extent that it is no longer unusual to hear about it on the news.
While society has high expectations for child guidance centers, the number of staff at child guidance centers is still insufficient.
We believe that only when the working environment of staff is protected will the child welfare center be able to fulfill its original role, and will this lead to securing new human resources.
This lawsuit is only at the early stage.
If the lawsuit goes smoothly this year, it is expected that the case will proceed to interrogation of the parties involved and the lawsuit will reach its final stage.
We look forward to your continued support and support this year.