Abused children find Japan’s shelters provide little comfort

A nine-year-old girl who spent more than three months in a temporary shelter in Tokyo after being reported as a victim of abuse, is pictured at her psychotherapist's office in Tokyo, Japan March 17, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) - Every year, more than 20,000 abused, delinquent, developmentally challenged or otherwise troubled Japanese children needing emergency housing pass through a system of shelters.

But the conditions inside many of them are so regimented that the children can find the experience harrowing, according to interviews with more than a dozen people who have stayed or worked in the facilities, as well as child psychology experts familiar with the system.