Children in trouble are approached by the two different systems in Japan: the child welfare system and the juvenile justice system.

    The former, governed by the Child Welfare Law of 1947, applies to children under 18 years of age who are in need of care and protection, and is administered by 47 prefectures and other local entities under the supervision and guidance by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

    The basic organs for its implementation are prefectural governors and child guidance centres established by prefectures.

    On the other hand, the responsibilities for administering the juvenile justice system rest with the national government.  Under the Juvenile Law of 1948, 50 familiy courts and their branches are given general jurisdiction over all juvenile delinquents under 20 years of age, with the participation of other governmental agencies such as the police, public prosecutors and correctional authorities in various stages of the juvenile justice process.

    The juvenile justice system applies to three categories of young persons:

(1) "juvenile offenders", i.e., persons of 14 years or over but under 20 years of age who have committed criminal offences;

(2) "law-breaking children", i.e., persons below the age of criminal responsibility (14 years) who have committed acts which would be criminal if committed by those aged 14 years or older; and

(3) "delinquent juveniles", i.e., persons under 20 years of age who are prone to commit criminal acts in light of their character or surrounding circumstances and of their behabiours such as  persistent disobedience to the reasonable dictates of their parents or guardians, association with criminals and other immoral persons, running away from home without goood reasons, frequenting unsavoury places, or persistent propensity to commit acts harmful to the moral integrity of their own or others".

   However, law-breaking children as well as predilinquent juveniles under 14 years of age are primarily dealt with by prefectural governors and child guidance centres, and may be referred to family courts only when the above agencies deem it necessary.