Tenrikyo Federation for Prison Chaplains held a seminar at Tenri Yotokuin Children’s Home on February 25. This seminar is held annually in the Home of the Parent. It aims at enriching correctional educational activities by providing an opportunity for prison chaplains to study together and exchange their thoughts.
This year, Warden Naoki Ozawa–a Yoboku belonging to Toshun Branch Church–of the juvenile reformatory in Uji, Kyoto, gave a lecture entitled “Playing Catch from Heart to Heart: What We Can Learn from Juveniles Who Have Made a Fresh Start in Life.”
In the lecture, he gave an overview of recent trends in juvenile crime and juvenile delinquency. He pointed out that, in many cases, juvenile delinquents were victims of abuse or bullying at home or at school or had parents who had marital difficulties. Due to such experiences, he said, they come to distrust others and become maladjusted to school life. Eventually they end up committing crimes. He then pointed out, as a commonly observed characteristic of juvenile delinquents, that they have a poor ability to express themselves or to persevere. He then described certain activities his facility offers as means of addressing this issue, such as an introspective method and volunteer activities at a home for the aged. Finally, he stressed the importance of guiding juvenile delinquents who committed crimes in such a way that they could reflect on their conduct and apologize to victims no