A study on Design Guideline on the disabled children nurturing facilities in Japan

일본 장애아 보육시설의 법적 기준 및 문헌에 관한 연구

The progress of industrialization in Korea has led to increase social participation by females and also a transition toward a nuclear family based system. As a result of it, Korea is nowadays confronted with the issue of childcare, which is emerging as a social problem. In Japan, both combined nurturing facilities and the exclusively dedicated facilities for disabled children are institutionally maintained on a consistent basis. In addition, the enactment of the Children Welfare Act has subsequently given birth to the establishment of the 'Minimum Standard Requirements for Children's Welfare Facilities'. With such act and standards in place, much attention is now paid to a physical improvement of disabled children nurturing facilities, too. In order to make the requirements for such facilities more complete and substantial, local governments have enacted their own ordinances on the basis of the major policies regarding the universal designs for the disabled, such as the Heart Building Act. As Japan has a cultural background similar to that of Korea and is equipped with the nurturing facilities systemized in accordance with the symptom and degree of disabilities, it is believed that a study on the current standards for disabled children in Japan will help to provide our domestic standards applicable to such facilities.