It comes as a shock to many parents who discover when they leave school that their daughter has been forced to strip to the waist, against her will, to undergo an annual health check-up. “My torso was completely naked and I was very embarrassed,” says one of the young students.
The medical check-up was introduced in some parts of Japan in the post-war period to ensure children were healthy and well-nourished. Now it is increasingly being challenged by parents and activists, who are calling for it to be scrapped before the start of the next school year, British media outlet The Guardian reports.
In reality, there is no clear regulation on whether or not children should undress during these medical checks. However, according to a survey of middle school students aged 12 to 16, 95.5% of respondents were unhappy about having to remove their clothes. Another survey found that most teachers are also against the practice. The impact of the practice on girls’ mental health is obviously not to be underestimated. Akiyo Tanaka, a city councilor in Nishinomiya, says that some students remain traumatized well into their teens.
The beginning of change
Despite these concerns, the Japanese Medical Association is reluctant to change practices. “Many doctors, especially senior ones, are conservative and just don’t like to change their ways,” says Kentaro Iwata, a professor of infectious diseases at Kobe University Hospital.
Furthermore, despite a warning from the Ministry of Education requesting the establishment of conditions that respect students’ privacy, such as the possibility of covering themselves with a towel, exams…
- Slate.fr
