crime

Girl, 14, arrested for hit-and-run during joyride with 3 boys in Osaka

29 Comments

Police said Monday they have arrested a 14-year-old girl for the hit-and-run of a 58-year-old man on Sunday morning and for driving without a license in Yodogawa, Osaka. The victim, identified as restaurant employee Fumio Muranaka, was dragged by the car for about 180 meters, police said. He suffered severe injuries. The girl told police she had taken her father's car without his knowledge.

In a press conference held by the local education board on Monday, an official said the girl was frequently absent from school. The official said he didn't know that the girl could drive a car.

Meanwhile, police quoted the parents as saying their daughter often went out at night without telling them.

According to police, the girl hit the victim just before 3 a.m. while she was joyriding with three teenage boys. The four fled the scene, leaving the car without giving the victim emergency aid or calling for help. The girl's father reported his car was missing on Sunday morning.

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29 Comments
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I aint defending it. But I did the SAME thing (minus the hit and run accident) when I was 14 with about 7 classmates from Catholic school in the mid 80s in S.C. USA! It reminds me. These are just kids. My parents werent paying any attention, and neither were theirs. The same recurring lesson. PARENTS, MANAGE YOUR ---D--MN-D KIDS!

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Meanwhile, police quoted the parents as saying their daughter often went out at night without telling them.

and what did they do after they found out? nothing, i believe.

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I hope they try her as an adult and her buddies too. Seems like they all need a hard lesson

hope all you like, that wont happen

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What the heck's going on with Jp society and its youth? This sounds like a grand theft auto videogame. Not too long ago you hardly heard about these kinds of things, not saying delinquents did not exist in Jp society, but more and more youth and engaged in reckless and dangerous behavior. Yet another sad example of negative influences from not only other countries, but a breakdown in the moral fabric of society. For all the rampant whining about Jp society heading towards militarism and all that other nonsense, fact is Jp society like many other societies is rapidly breaking down, no respect for elders, no respect for society or its laws. Truly scary

Unfortunately, this is is true. Japanese society has changed a lot the last 20 years. Japanese people used to be famous worldwide for their discipline, the love for their country and their ethical thinking. However, nowadays, we see a new, scary face of the Japanese society. Is this because of the globalization??

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great parenting there too

Are parents supposed to keep guarding their children door at night too? Really, being a parent is so tiring these days.. There ARE some things that parents cant do at all times.

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Have you ever met a Japanese Social worker? I havent. Girls can be just as lawless and violent as boys, although we often expect better from them.

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In a press conference held by the local education board on Monday, an official said the girl was frequently absent from school. The official said he didn’t know that the girl could drive a car.

What does the local education board have to do with this? Why are they even making a comment?

Also, Im sure there are many elements to this kids family life/parents that are missing from the story.

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I guess the 3 boys had another kind of joyride in mind

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Maybe daddy will do some more parenthing now that he has to pay a large bill.

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Hey in Shizuoka, some Japanes-Brazilian kids did something very similar,so having "gaijin" kids do something stupid is not that unconmmon. I feel sorry for her parents but I guess that family will have to learn it's lesson one way or another, I hope this stupid girl is in jail for a couple of years, until she gets some common sense in her thick Osaka head!

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So why did the cops not send a patrol car straight to his house a soon as identifying ownership?

It was 3 a.m. the accident happened. Who knows what time the car and the dead man were found, but it was probably around the same time the car was reported missing in the morning, sometime after the sun comes up and people start stirring and noticing cars with dead people under them. Not many cops on duty at that time and the few who were had their hands full with a dead guy. It is unlikely the owner of the car was going to move away or flee the country in a few hours, so why the rush anyway? --Cirroc

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Thats some bad police work. The car was left at the scene at 3am and the father reported the car missing in the morning. So why did the cops not send a patrol car straight to his house a soon as identifying ownership?

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What the heck's going on with Jp society and its youth? Sadly joyriding and killing folks isn't just in Japan. I remember the UK had huge issues a few years back with this.

These parents obviously lost control when she was a young age. You can pretty much look at a 5 year old's behaviour and map out their teenage years. They may smarten up in their 20's but a spoiled child at 5 is a handful at 14. I blame the folks for this.

As for Japan, it is getting stricter with "gaijin" but easier for Japanese. Could you imagine the outrage had this girl been a foreign child? Honestly parents in Japan these days should hang their head in shame.

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Only 14 can you imagine what she will do when she is 24? I can understand when boys are taking such action by themselves, and here we are a young girl destroying her future. She does deserve to get punishment as an adult, to teach her a lesson, and if this was my daughter I would recommend to prosecutor to take full action, on her and the boys. What is the world coming to? Young generation is destroying heart of parents. Severe punishment is the only solution not just for this girl but also any future youngsters.

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Well, even more suggestions that the parents should have done more and are responsible, but no suggestions of how exactly they could stop her from leaving the house or how they were supposed to magically know that their 14 year old daughter was going to steal the car.

Armchair quarterbacks with 20/20 vision are infesting JT. --Cirroc

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This story would make perfect sense in Japan with any age group of Japanese... Just replace the age and age group below with any ones that you think you are most likely to hear....

"Girl, [39], arrested for hit-and-run during joyride with 3 [Salary men] in Osaka"

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TJrandom -- Disagree: my parents were still doing parenting when I was 14, 15, 16, 17, and older. Parenting doesn't stop when a child reaches the teen years. Parenting, in fact, should increase, though differentiate from pre-teen years.

The parents of this 14-year-old should be charged as accessories in this case, and given the full sentence under the law. The girl who did this should also be sent to juvenile hall along with her friends.

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How can parents lets their children run wild like this? the parents should be brought into this case and charged with the injury as well for being so careless and lazy.

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What the heck's going on with Jp society and its youth? This sounds like a grand theft auto videogame. Not too long ago you hardly heard about these kinds of things, not saying delinquents did not exist in Jp society, but more and more youth and engaged in reckless and dangerous behavior. Yet another sad example of negative influences from not only other countries, but a breakdown in the moral fabric of society. For all the rampant whining about Jp society heading towards militarism and all that other nonsense, fact is Jp society like many other societies is rapidly breaking down, no respect for elders, no respect for society or its laws. Truly scary.

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Not sure exactly what the parents can do. I often left home in the middle of the night when mine were sleeping.

But I think most 14 year olds know better than to take the parents' car when they do not even have a license. Its not brain surgery that that is way out of bounds and you do not need stellar parents to know that. I hope they try her as an adult and her buddies too. Seems like they all need a hard lesson.

That being said I bet the geezer out at 3 a.m. was about as cautious crossing the road as the teen girl was driving. --Cirroc

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What stupid and weak parents... I just hope they will be punished itselves as hard as the girl!

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Will the three males be charged as well? Or is running away from a car that dragged a dude for 200M okey dokey, as long as you aren't the driver?

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I live here man. A kid was killed in front of my building last week and should of been home. No one seems to care in this city till a dude gets dragged 180 M.

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an official said the girl was frequently absent from school. The official said he didn’t know that the girl could drive a car.

Here's a memo for the school official, she can't drive a car as evidenced by her inability to avoid hitting some guy.

How stupid is this girl to not know that the car would be traced back to her parents. Also, not just for the 14 year old girl, but her little male friends that were out with her, where are their parents? I was a teenage boy before, and you can bet that I was not out at 3 a.m.

I hope that they throw the book not only at her but her friends as well.

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The official said he didn’t know that the girl could drive a car.

Apparently she couldn’t.

great parenting there too

At 14 the parenting is almost over – peers largely take over. Frequently absent from school, it sounds like she was fast on her way to this, or some other disaster.

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And, if you read the full story on another news site, the fellow was trapped under the car and dragged for 200m. Kids are a product of their environment. Her so-called 'parents' should be facing charges as well.

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Wow. I feel sorry for that man's family. I'd be suing the folks and demanding income for lost wages due to their child. She should be locked away for good. One thing to joyride. Another to hit a man, leave the car and man.

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sick sick sick.

Stupid kids should be publicly caned.

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What a bunch of little scumbags. Yeah, great parenting there too: 'she often goes out at night without telling us'

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