[null and void]

The kids are as young as six or seven, on their way to and from school, and there is nary a guardian in sight.

From some of the comments above it sounds more like every Japanese adult is a guardian.

[ETL]

Re: The kids are as young as six or seven, on their way to and from school, and there is nary a guardian in sight.

From some of the comments above it sounds more like every Japanese adult is a guardian.

Assuming they actually do love their children, the reason the parents do this seems obvious enough. They're stupid.