Photo/Illutration The Children and Families Agency (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Prospective employees working with children can be subjected to criminal sexual background checks under the draft of a bill compiled by the Children and Families Agency. 

Under the proposed Japanese version of Britain’s Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), the sexual offense records of those who were sentenced to prison without labor or given more severe penalties will be accessible for 20 years after the completion of their sentences.

The records of those who received fines or lighter punishments will be available for 10 years.

After coordinating with the ruling parties, the agency plans to submit the bill to the ordinary Diet session.

The Japanese version of the DBS would allow employers to verify that individuals seeking jobs involving children have no history of sexual offenses, effectively restricting employment for those with such criminal records.

The focus was on the duration for which employers can access the system from the standpoint of consistency with the Criminal Law, which stipulates sentences expire after 10 years for imprisonment without labor or more severe penalties, and after five years for fines or lighter punishments.

The agency did not establish strict regulations such as prohibiting individuals from being hired. Instead, to limit employment to some extent, it decided to allow employers to access the system even after the sentences have expired.

To set up a reasonable duration for record storage, the agency analyzed the length of time between the finalized conviction of a sex offender and a subsequent finalized conviction for a repeat offense.

The recidivism rate showed that among repeat offenders, 90 percent of those imprisoned without labor or given more severe penalties reoffended within 20 years, and 90 percent of those who were fined or received lighter punishments did so within 10 years.

From these findings, the agency proposed the data storage durations of 20 years and 10 years.

Schools and nursery schools will be required to screen the sexual offense history of job applicants.

Afterschool facilities, tutoring schools, baby-sitting matching website operators and training schools for talent agencies can decide whether to incorporate the DBS.

Once accredited by the government, these organizations can advertise their accredited status while complying with the mandate to check the records.

The “specific sexual offense history” to be checked will include not only previous offenses but also violations of local ordinances such as molestation.

The enforcement date will be set by government ordinance within two and a half years after the promulgation.

The Japanese version of the DBS was abandoned for submission to the extraordinary Diet session last fall due to calls within the ruling parties for stricter regulations.

Some lawmakers say the data storage durations should be longer and that coordination may face difficulties.

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