Youtube channel called “THREE FLAGS- Kibou no Noroshi (Signal of Hope)”

Videos are 10 to 30 minutes, focusing on one topic 

Cover serious social issues, specifically focusing on issues of “social care”

Caring for children in society whose circumstances prevent their own parents from raising them 

Children live in infant care until they are 2 years old, and then in orphanages/foster care from

2 to 18 years old 

Tone of the show is always positive 

Careful about how they write their scripts so as not to hurt or criti

The members of THREE FLAGS have experienced living under social care 

Members:

Light-san (Nishizaka Raito, 34): filmmaker, picture book writer 

Bro-san (Brohan Satoshi, 28): model, TV personality

Mako-san (Masako Yamamoto, 27): certified childcare worker, lecturer, organizer of ACHA project

Provides furisode kimono to young people growing up in foster care 

Visited Clover House (aftercare program for those who have graduated from orphanages) at the end of May 

Shed light on the kinds of activities offered in these programs 

There are 605 orphanages in Japan, but most people do not have contact with them often 

Number of consultations about abuse increased 13.7 times in 2018 from 2001 

65.5 percent of children living in orphanages have been abused by their parents 

THREE FLAGS talks about social care from the perspective of those involved in it 

Discuss what happens to the children after graduating from the orphanages

Mako talks about her loneliness after graduating, and how she slept on benches outside of the home

Bro discusses financial difficulties after graduating 

Discuss how abuse has increased due to the Covid pandemic 

Talk about “abuse as an extension of discipline” 

Focus on the boundaries between discipline and corporal punishment 

Talk about more hidden issues such as poverty and cycles of abuse 

Leads people to think about Japan’s social structure in relation to social care

Convention on the Rights of the Child

Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989

States that children have the right to live, the right to grow up, the right to be protected, and the right to participate

Attempt to encourage those working in childcare facilities

Mako states that she is alive due to their love and compassion 

Light praises the adults that helped build “Pep Kids Koriyama” 

Large indoor play facility built in Koriyama after the Great East Japan Earthquake

Helped target the issue of stress and obesity after the city’s children could not go outside due to fear of radiation 

THREE FLAGS interviewed Jun Maekawa who runs a photo studio and has provided employment for orphaned children for 12 years 

Inspired after hearing that children who graduated from orphanages had immense trouble finding suitable jobs or keeping jobs after being hired

Interview Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsF602orBqk
                       https://www.businessinsider.jp/post-214691日本語Ver.
https://three-flags-kibou-noroshi.jimdosite.com/

Government is expanding budget for social care, but it is still impossible to have a perfect system 

Social care that respects children's rights may only be realized through a combination of social institutions and a network of adults

THREE FLAGS emphasized "openness" and "employment support" of the facility, as well as aftercare after graduation

Felt that involvement from adults could change a person’s life