JAPAN: Children as young as 12 are using sophisticated telephone networks to find dates.
A survey conducted in Osaka for the Yomiuri newspaper revealed that 80 per cent of high schoolers, 40 per cent of middle schoolers, and 18 per cent of sixth-year primary school students have cellular phones.
Another survey by the Japan Federation of Parent Teachers’ Associations found that 60 per cent of junior high students had accessed dating services and that many were unaware of the dangers posed by using such services.
Of 283 victims of “lonely hearts” dating club crimes in the first half of 2001, 218 were minors.
“We have to let parents know what’s going on and come up with ideas to tackle these things,” a federation spokesman said.
Full story www.tes.co.uk
Michael Fitzpatrick
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