Kawasaki City was the first municipality in Japan to enact a local children’s rights ordinance and establish a pioneering Children’s Council. The Council predated the 2001 ordinance, implying that a practice-based understanding of children’s rights developed before institutionalization. This study explores how this context shaped supporters’ conceptions of children’s rights and their roles.
Using a qualitative visual narrative method, ten of eleven supporters engaged in drawing and semi-structured interviews about their images of rights and support. Drawings and narratives were integrated into contextual models preserving individual meanings while allowing comparison across recurring motifs and interpretations. Models were refined iteratively with feedback from participants and stakeholders to enhance analytical rigor.
Two findings emerged. First, supporters did not view support as individual competence or action directed at children but as creating a relational space; they positioned themselves as equal participants rather than authoritative figures. Second, they conceived children’s rights as qualities invisible unless noticed yet already present in the environment—like air—providing safety. This environmental framing accords with philosophical and psychological discourses influential in Kanagawa Prefecture in the 1990s and 2000s, emphasizing Fureai (relational attunement) and the significance of place.
These findings indicate that supporters conceptualize rights as a resonant space where differences coexist and adopt a relational model in which maintaining or improving that space constitutes support. The study moves beyond Western individualistic frameworks by proposing a Japan-rooted understanding of rights as emergent properties of lived environments, offering implications for future research, education and policy. These insights yield fresh perspectives.

Authors:
Sora Noike, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan
Nanako Tabata, Independent Scholar, Japan
Natsuno Ikeda, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Sui Kihara, Independent Scholar, Japan
Kokona Takahashi, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Junji Yamamoto, Tokyo University ofAgriculture First High School, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Mr, Junji Yamamoto is Part-time Instructor of Japanese Language, Tokyo University of Agriculture First Senior & Junior High School

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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