Since 2002, Dr. Kunio Kitamura, Director, Japan Family Planning Association Clinic, has been writing a series of essays for the website of the Mainichi Daily News, one of Japan's largest dailies. In August 2005, his essays started to appear in English on the website.

Dr. Kitamura is an obstetrician and father of five who writes on adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) and other topics related to RH.

A summary of his August article is given here.

The Japan Family Planning Association (JFPA) runs a 'Puberty Hotline' manned by counselors to assist young boys and girls with issues about puberty.

Dr. Kunio Kitamura, Head, JFPA, writes that every summer the number of calls made by boys suddenly increases, with claims about masturbation and peeping.

But it is the silent or prank callers that are the most bothersome, especially if the counselor is female. When a man takes over the phones the number of prank calls declines.

If the caller goes silent, it is difficult to know what is happening around them. Maybe the child has a problem, but is too nervous to talk much. Some boys lack confidence in talking to men.

With nearly 500 prank calls made to the hotline in 2004, the enthusiasm of some counselors has diminished, especially since some calls are abusive. Some callers use the hotline as a 'sex talk' service and masturbate while calling. Sometimes a middle-aged man calls pretending to be a child wanting to talk about sex. Other times, the callers plague female counselors with personal questions.

What started out as a service to help children in need is in danger of being damaged by the very people it is supposed to assist.