City in southwestern Japan closes lactation room after damage, alleged use by minors for smoking

OITA – A lactation room in this southwestern Japan city had to be closed after security camera footage showed it was rarely used for nursing and minors may have been smoking inside, among other inappropriate uses.

The Oita Municipal Government decided to close the lactation room in front of JR Oita Station on October 23 after damage was discovered, including a hole about 50 centimeters in diameter in the interior wall. To investigate the situation, images from a security camera at the entrance were viewed.

The lactation room was installed in 2017 at the station’s Funai Chuo gate square. According to the municipal government’s urban planning department, the accumulation of garbage, such as empty alcohol cans and cigarette butts in the room, had gradually increased. The department had posted notices warning against using the room for purposes other than nursing, but the hole was blown in late September.

In response, officials reviewed security camera footage from a total of nine days – September 17 to 23 and October 12 to 13. It turned out that out of 40 times people entered the room, only one was of a woman with a baby. The remaining 39 times it was occupied by a total of 72 people: 52 men and 20 women. Many of them were young, and some individuals who appeared to be underage were seen smoking as they entered or left the room. It is apparently possible that the room was used for smoking and drinking.

The municipality will consider in the future whether the space can be reused for other uses. A representative of the city planning department stated: “We apologize to the mothers and babies who used it (the lactation room).”

(Japanese original by Megu Koyama, Oita Bureau)