The government is pushing for a law to block the entrances and exits of facilities like amusement parks and supermarkets for 10 minutes when a child is reported missing.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on Thursday it will amend the relevant law to incorporate the so-called Code Adam, a missing child safety program originally created by Wal-Mart, for multi-purpose facilities. The government hopes to introduce the changes early next year.
Code Adam is named after Adam Walsh, who was kidnapped at the age of six in a Sears department store in Florida in 1981 and was later found murdered. When a child is reported missing, all entrance and exits are locked up, and the details of the missing child are repeatedly announced to facilitate the search.
It was started by Wal-Mart in 1984 and is being implemented in 52,000 large stores and 550 companies and organizations.
