crime

22-year-old man arrested for attempted murder of girlfriend's 3-year-old son

22 Comments

Police said Friday that they have arrested a 22-year-old man on suspicion of attempting to murder his girlfriend's 3-year-old son.

On Nov 7, the boy, fathered by the woman's former partner, underwent a medical checkup at a hospital where staff discovered what they believed to be evidence of mistreatment and reported it to the authorities, TV Asahi reported. The man, who has been named as Masato Kigure, is accused of covering the boy's nose and mouth in an attempt to suffocate him, police were quoted as saying.

During police questioning, Kigure reportedly confessed to covering the boy's airways, but insisted that he did it to stop him crying, and was not attempting to kill him, TV Asahi reported.

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22 Comments
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Heath Baggie - Nice long post. I thought I was public enemy #1 for long posts.

Times have changed haven't they? The things my father, mother, grandparents did....oh man,....they'd all be locked up in some cell rotting. There are lots of factors involved in child rearing.

Assuming you married a Japanese woman. They don't have a playbook to follow. You don't really have child services here either. Gender does matter too. Boys get punished more severely than girls.

Little girls often skate through life doing bad things and mommy just doesn't discipline them at all. For example, at school some girls often attack and hit boys. Without discipline, those same girls grow up and abuse their husbands physically. From school they can see the difference.

If a boy attacks a girl, you often see that boy get YANKED by his shirt or arm usually by a female teacher. Then scolded severely and placed in the corner of shame.

Girls receive no punishment at all. If you raise them to think they're are "The Little Princess" that's exactly how they'll act. Anything I want type attitude.

Past vs Present: I prefer the old school methods of child-rearing. That involves religion and corporal punishment. Men aren't gentlemen cause we chose to be, we were raised that way. My father is a loving man and a fine mentor / role model for me. However, when I was young he was a man I both feared and respected. His word set me straight. It was not out of anger or abuse. That black leather belt came out BECAUSE.....I did something BAD. I was wrong, out of line, had a bad attitude. My father would spank / discipline.

Nowadays, Parents got no backbone. Parents look to the bureaucrats to tell them what to do. Bureaucrats: "You must become friends with the child"

NetNinja: That's a load of £$%. I'm his parent, not his friend. This isn't a negotiation. You do what I say. I said get back in their and put some clothes on cause you're not leaving the house looking like all these tramps I see in Shibuya.

Bureacrats: You can't tell her what to wear. You have to advise her, help her to understand why that mini-skirt is too short. (While he dreams of finding her somewhere in Shibuya so he can Enjo-kosai your daughter)

NetNinja: By the time she learns this message it'll be too late. I'll be sitting in the living room next to her Japanese mom as they start to tell me she's pregnant and wants her first abortion.

@Heath In a nutshell, for interracial marriages, quite often the case, Japanese women are not culturally aware of Western practices for child-rearing. It's very much like the situation with the Nuclear Radiation. They do nothing and just hope for the best. Shoganai.

Furthermore Heath, the bureaucrats literally declaw foreign husbands by not allowing you to have an official Family Register (Koseki) so you really aren't the head of your household anyway. Therefore you can't really declare that the house YOU live in is governed by your Western ideals.

Many of you will never understand how evil that legislature is. It undermines your marriage and your right to decide what is best for you family.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

oh my god people stop the flaming, and blaming someones DNA? oh please...there are various issues at play here and you all are getting in an uproar. Basically there should be better awareness and support networks for family life that are not implemented properly and locking people up doesn't solve the problem. The younger you are the harder it is to deal on so many layers the stresses of daily life. I'm 35 with a strong willed daughter who will be 3 next month. I by no means am the expert on parenting but I have many different experiences shared with many people involved with helping me understand myself and children in general. I work with children 2-8years old and also have a 3 month old son. Now every child is different but behaviour patterns are there to see and understand. There are ways around problems with kids and it's not always easy to find them, especially if you are stressed out. I'll give you an example of this situation in comparison to this article. It started with my girl's wilful attitude in getting her way about having jelly before her dinner. I have been trying to estabilish a routine that is healthy in her life. She had just come back from Canada living with the grandparents for 6 months while we waited out the fallout conditions to change. Her whole world was revolved around her and what she wanted and quite adamant about her wishes. Her grandparents let her do anything she wanted and let her get out of hand. I could see their stress near the end of the visit getting to them when she had run of the house. I just threw my hands up in the air at a loss. I was told it was just a phase...so anyway back to Japan and the new house rules...she was quick to complain about every little thing, and was quite fond of ear piercing screams to get her way. so she did this right next to baby and I got pissed off, I didn't want baby to get hurt, and it freaked him out to say the least. I don't spank her, but I told her firmly this was hurting our ears and that she doesn't get her way from yelling. I told her yes you can have the jelly but you should eat dinner first. She's very intelligent and understands but didn't want to comply, she wanted her way, a battle of wills...so any way I picked her up and brought her out of the room and told her no more please, she was shreaking willfully again and so I placed my hand over her mouth, not nose, and for only 2 seconds...I was told this was abuse by my wife and to stop it immediately...I was stressed by her lack of support in disciplining the child to begin with and told her to let me talk to our child the way I needed to...I was clearly aware covering my child's mouth would not help the situation, but I knew only in that moment I wanted it to stop and worried about my baby's ears...little kids have supersonic screams I tell you! So any ways I just gave her to her mother and left the house and cooled off before I got too angry and said something that would aggravate my relationship with my wife and her family who were present at the time...my girl continued to yell in the house but it had changed to crying because she didn't get her way in the end. So the whole idea of a 20 year old who is not equipped to deal with such stressful situations is a hazard to themself and the people around them and they do need to be educated on various ideas of society and self discipline...and I can fully understand their stress and not being able to deal with it adequately. So before anyone flames about how the girl and guy are such idiots on how they dealt with the situation, learn to have some compassion and stop being so damned negative...the child didn't die, if they wanted to kill the child they could have snapped their neck just like that. Parents have been know to push their child away just a little bit and it had caused a fatality just because they fell the wrong way. They parent didn't mean for it to happen, does it make them evil parents? did their DNA cause them to have a bad day? get off your damned high horse people and try to guy helpful advice than hate mongering...damn!!...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Oh, Net, my dear. Don't be so touchy! I'm no monster either. I believe this man IF he did this to this child acted monsterously, and IF that woman did that to her son, so did she. No one gets the benefit of the doubt due to gender, race or any other factor beyond their control, with me. Im universally judgmental of people who hurt children.

I was just pointing out how quick you are to excuse men, and how similarly quick you are to damn women. Dont you think in Japan the coldness and the monstrosity is gender blind? Its Japan, Ninja, its ALL messed up, male and female.

If this man did this, he deserves a long stint in prison. Why does a man deserve the benefit of the doubt more than a woman? I call it like it like I see it too, and I was just pointing out you are selectively judgemental, based on gender.

I dont care if you are civil to me, dear. Im not that much of a delicate flower.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Oh Goinggoinggone. Thanks so much for keeping me in your heart and mind. Yes, I tend to believe that women are a bit more MONSTROUS here in Japan than other countries based on testimonials I've heard. I'm not the only one who comes with a quick responses.

If you'd like to say that I support men's rights, I'd say you're dayum skippy I do. However I'd like to be clear. On this particular story I doubt the police got a confession so easily given the pattern that I've seen here in Japan of NOT telling the truth right away.

Anyway if you are a woman Gone you don't have to worry about me giving the man the benefit of the doubt. The LAW is totally in a woman's favor and the man is NOT given the benefit of the doubt when it counts the most. If we had personal accounts that we could pm each other I'd send you a link to an entire group of men who wish they had received the benefit of the doubt especially this poor 22 year old guy who's about to have a nice long stint in the slammer.

No matter what Gone, I call it like I see it. If I feel something is shady I'll mention that too.

Thanks Gone for responding. I won't deny that you are right about any tendencies I might have. P.S: Notice one thing. You called me out on something, I responded, I felt I responded to you tactfully without contempt. Futhermore, I didn't call you a MONSTER. Civil enough for you?

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Netninja, whenever a woman is accused of hurting a child you are the first there with comments like "MONSTER!!! Japanese women always attacking and hurting the boys. " - that was one of yours from an article about a woman beating her son with a bokken a month or so back. However when it is a man accused of hurting a small child, you are the first to give the benefit of the doubt.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Ok, all we see here is a young man, an idiot, 22 years old, no info on the so called mother, I hope she is at least 20 but for all we know she could be a high school drop out, come from a really messed up family, I really have to wonder about the PARENTS of these 2 individuals, me, I have 2 kids I would not wan them to grow up and live in sin like this, rather that they go off to college and study hard and do something worthy of respect with their lives, that 22 year old needs a good swift kick to the side of his face and head!! IMHO.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

During police questioning, Kigure reportedly confessed to covering the boy’s airways, but insisted that he did it to stop him crying, and was not attempting to kill him, TV Asahi reported.

Huh? That excuse might be acceptable for a 5 year old kid, but not for a 22 year old male. This guy must be arrested not only for child abuse and potential murder, but also for extreme stupidity.

These news are so sad. I can't accept that there are people out there who can mistreat and abuse a young child. It's frustrating, really.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Hello cleo,

"Rubbish. A child knows you don't stop someone crying by covering their airways - unless you intend to stop them crying permanently."

I agree with you all the way to Egypt and heaven ....many thanks!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If someone doesn't know how to deal with kids then they shouldn't have sex! Regardless of our opinions, our true feelings towards this phenomenon against infants in this country will never be vindicated. What goes on in the minds of these "children" is beyond our scope due to the little information we receive on these criminal investigations.

Let's enjoy the fact that this little chap got some help and will live. Unfortunately with his mother, who is all foam and no beer.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

STOP IT!!! YOU ARE SICKENING ME!! The problem is that Japanese people are treated and act like children for the greater portion of their lives, and never receive the treatment or punishment that they are due for their actions. In Japan you are an adult at the age of 20, and I am sure that at that age you know what is wrong, and what is right. When the system decides to treat its people like adults and hold them responsible for their actions. Babies and small children will be protected from the idiots that father them. And I am sure that the mother's of these children being abused by their boyfriends...know that it is happening! Put them both in jail!!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

This stupid 22 year old and the idiot mother of the 3 year old boy are not the only ones that should be blamed, but all of Japanese society for condoning free sex with no regard to the serious consequences that may happen, like getting PREGNANT and giving birth to BABIES, that are tiny HUMANS and need so much love, time, care and attention 24/7!!

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

goinggoinggone

Did I miss something here? Why are you thinking about blaming mothers? I made absolutely no mention of the mother. My focus is primarily on the police and their interrogation methods. An individual is about to go up on attempted murder charges. I'd like to know how they got a confession.

He could have been tired, distraught with guilt, under duress, and possibly angry with himself for not being the kind of father he had hoped to be.

@Goinggoinggone I realize the moderators allow other bloggers to take shots at me and I don't mind it cause I'm such a tough cookie but you're coming way out of left field on this. I sense a lot of hostility in you post. Have a cold latte, you'll feel better. This article has nothing to do wtih mothers. Please understand my focus in my original post.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Do any of you believe that if a 22 year old man were trying to kill a 3 year old child in the privacy of his home, the child would survive?

The man is an idiot, and have seen so many men in my life who are also this stupid as to think covering the nose and mouth just work to stop a kid crying.

And for the record, if crying bothers most women, it drives men absolutely bonkers. And if most men ever had empathy, society encouraged them losing that like it was some sort of baggage.

Any prospective parent, whether blood or foster, should be required to take a course at the community center on how to deal with a crying child, as well as how not to. Society has a hand in this both for deeming empathy an "unmanly" trait and for failing to make sure people have any child rearing skills while making danged sure they can do algebra at school (don't ask me why).

1 ( +2 / -1 )

If there's any positive thing in this story, it is the fact that at least the hospitals are capable to discover abuses and they report it to the police.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

At 22 years old, I would tend to believe his story. He is probably just too inexperienced to realize how to deal with a toddler

Rubbish. A child knows you don't stop someone crying by covering their airways - unless you intend to stop them crying permanently.

I wonder what the circumstances of the 'medical checkup at a hospital' were. Was the child taken in with suspicion of abuse? Was the evidence of abuse discovered during an examination for some unrelated condition?

I hope the little boy is OK and that the mother learns to choose adult partners in future.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Wow! What a bunch of odd posts. This is a case of child abuse by an ignorant and aggressive nut case. There is no justification for any sort of physical abuse of a child. People who think they have disciplinary issues with kids are wrong. It is self-discipline they have issues with. There are no bad kids! Only bad parents! You'd probably find this nut's father did the same to him. I just hope he is charged and estranged from the kid and that the GF has the balls to make sure he never sees the kid again.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

At 22 years old, I would tend to believe his story. He is probably just too inexperienced to realize how to deal with a toddler and frustration may have gotten the best of him. Of course that doesn't mean I condone his actions. Arresting him for attempted murder will force something to happen be it much needed counselling on how to deal with toddlers or perhaps a forced separation. Either way, I hope the child is safe.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

But if it was the mother who did this, NetNinja, you would be blaming her, one hundred percent, but of course, its a man, therefore he must be innocent.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

@Naruhodo1, speak for yourself!

i have a 10 months and i dont care how much he cry i wont do that to my son or any other infant.

poor excuse for a criminal mind.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Hmmm.....shady. Police interrogation methods.....a misinterpreted confession. Pretty scary. Foreigners are often misunderstood by police but it' doesn't stop there. Japanese is a vague language at times. I'm not so sure this man is guilty of something.

Investigation is warranted of course but the story seems a bit gray.

-7 ( +0 / -6 )

Mexico, wasnt trying to kill!! Tryn to shut up the cryn baby! Again, people (especially men when it comes to babies or women) do not have the common sense to think a few steps ahead and realize their actions are dangerous. Anger makes people do horrible things in the momment.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Yes, yes, another young stupid woman, gets pregnant by?? Her former partner, dude takes off now she hops in bed with her next lover, this so called Masato Kigure 22 years and just too stupid for his own good! NO MORALS! NO COMMON SENSE and of course no rubbers! No condoms or the pill and what do we have, this horny young Masato trying to get his sexual gratification from this so called girlfriend but is pissed off and tries to kill her 3 year old son, time to TAKE AWAY this innocent 3 year old from this idiot woman, help her out by getting an operation so she will never breed again, and just in case make this Masato dude also unbreedable too, both have worthless DNA and both will only cause pain and suffering for innocent victims in their near vicinity. IMHO.

-7 ( +4 / -11 )

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