NNVS Forum 2009 welcomes individuals involved in aid activities from across Japan.

Adapted from the Japanese by James Huffman

The National Network for Victim Support (NNVS), is a Japanese nonprofit organization active nationwide in aiding families of crime victims. On October 2, the group convened the NNVS Forum 2009 in Tokyo's Sasakawa Hall, which focussed this year on the link between communities and victim support. Forum participants included some 200 aid personnel and counselors from member organizations across the nation, as well as representatives from government agencies. The event featured in-depth panel discussions on a wide range of topics, including actual cases described by the victims.

Forum participants intently take notes.

2009 marks the 14th year that NNVS, which provides free assistance to crime victims, has organized the forum. In his opening address, Director Akira Yamagami stressed the continued need for work in the field, saying“Despite progress in developing a national support structure, we need to persist with our efforts."

The event got underway with a keynote lecture by Mayor Kazumasa Moriyama of Osaka Prefecture's Settsu City, on regulations that aid victims of crime. He described the concepts underlying the establishment of these regulations and described measures in six specific areas, including relief money, rent subsidy, and assistance with daily activities and employment. In addition, members of victims’ families described the hardships suffered when they lost children to crime, and the secondary damage inflicted by criminal investigations and trial proceedings.

The panel discusses harsh real-world examples.

Director Toshiyuki Yamashita, of the Kyoto City Mental Health Promotion Center, discussed efforts to provide psychological support to victims. Finally, a panel discussion that included law enforcement authorities addressed the issue of how best to provide community aid to crime victims. Participants expressed their views on issues raised by victims, including the people that victims should consult following a crime, the need for caution when speaking to the media, and real-world difficulties encountered in interactions with community residents.

The Japanese government is developing a structure whereby aid for victims will eventually become the responsibility of the national and local government. Current measures in this area include the Act to Support Crime Victims, Including Payment of Crime Victim Benefits (1980) and the Basic Act on Crime Victims (2004). Additionally, a nationwide network has been established in the private sector, encompassing liaison facilities such as victim aid centers. The network provides counseling and aid across all of Japan's 47 prefectures.

Donation boxes set up at the Forum venue solicit support for aid organizations.

Aid centers around the country provide services such as telephone and in-person counseling for victims, provision of personnel to accompany victims when visiting hospitals, police stations, and courtrooms, and support for self-help groups. Another focal point of these efforts is the training of aid staff and counselors. Forum participants spent their time undergoing training in various areas, including basic legal knowledge and counseling techniques. As part of its efforts to aid crime victims, the Nippon Foundation continues to provide support for such activities.