crime

22-year-old woman arrested after leaving newborn baby in toilet bowl for 9 hours

32 Comments

Police in Saitama City have arrested a 22-year-old woman on suspicion of parental neglect after she left her newborn baby girl unattended for nine hours after giving birth in the toilet at her apartment.

According to police, Risa Matsuura, who lives alone and works in a bar, gave birth to her daughter at around 12 noon on March 9, Fuji TV reported. She left the infant unattended until about 9 p.m. that night when she called 119 and said she had given birth that day at noon.

An ambulance rushed to the apartment and found the infant in the toilet bowl. She was taken to hospital where doctors said she was suffering from hypothermia. Police said Monday the baby’s condition was stable.

Police quoted Matsuura, who was arrested on Monday, as saying she knew she had not provided adequate support for her child after she was born but didn’t know what to do.

Police did not release any information on who the father of the infant is.

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32 Comments
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This is one of the many societal issues that need to be addressed more in Japan, sex education is non existent, I just read the other day japanese students are even forbidden to address the teachers during class time to ask things like "what does this mean", "what page are we on?", as its viewed as class disruption. In the "we are all one" Japan, its everyone for himself. These kind of articles dont even surprise me anymore.

0 ( +11 / -11 )

Reading the article makes this horrible story even worse: she didn't leave the baby "unattended", she tossed the poor baby in the damn toilet!

11 ( +18 / -7 )

Hopefully that baby will be adopted into a loving family.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

She didn't know what to do? She carried the baby for 9 months !!

9 ( +15 / -6 )

It takes a special kind of monster to toss away another life, let alone the life of a newborn into the toilet like so much trash. I'm so relieved to hear that the baby survived. I hope they are never returned to this PoS who "didn't know what to do" after it (I refuse to use "she" because it doesn't deserve that pronoun) gave birth. Absolutely disgusting. Lock this pathetic excuse for a human being away in the darkest, dankest, filthiest hole you can find.

As for Japan's Education Ministry, the government, parents - equip your children with proper and comprehensive sex education. You're sending these kids out into the world ignorant and unprepared for the realities of life and they think they can mess around without suffering the consequences. Don't want kids? Put a goddamn condom on. Ask for the pill. Actions have consequences and this story is one vivid example of how the youths in Japan are ill-equipped to deal with said consequences.

5 ( +12 / -7 )

finally rich.....

in Japan, sex education is non existent, I just read the other day japanese students are even forbidden to address the teachers during class time to ask things like "what does this mean", "what page are we on?", as its viewed as class disruption.

Sorry, but to suggest that students are not allowed to ask questions is nonsense. All students get sex education in both science and health classes. Social issues are discussed in moral education.

This case is not an education issue but another mental health one.

5 ( +10 / -5 )

I would argue that this is not so much about sex education, but about the cultural taboos that exist in Japan. The woman was not married, probably raised by a single mother who can't afford to help her, or perhaps she is estranged. She works at a bar and so probably can't afford to take time off or collect welfare. I doubt she could have collected maternity working at a bar. The baby-daddy probably wanted an abortion or doesn't even know about it. Thats Japan in a nutshell.

The woman's actions are sick and disturbing, but a result of the monster that Japanese society is. I don't want to go off-topic, but what sick culture doesn't recognize shared custody?

2 ( +11 / -9 )

I love Japan but this is one of the darkest and awful side of the country. It makes me vomit to see so many Japanese killing babies and kids instead of protecting them, they are angels. Jp government, education system, society etc....a combination of irresponsables caring more of taboos than life.

Hope this baby will find a lovely family and soon will recover.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

what sick culture doesn't recognize shared custody?

Japan because gods' forbid the father shares any responsibility for a life he's half responsible for creating. Child-rearing is a woman's job and all that jazz. Utter nonsense. The continued subscription to gender roles and the stubborn, desperate clinging to the patriarchal credo is what's contributing to cases like this along with a myriad of other social issues. Unfortunately, given just how allergic Japan is to any sort of change and progress, nothing will be done and its people will continue to suffer because of it.

-1 ( +7 / -8 )

It seems like she did not expect the child to still be alive when she returned home. Like she was hoping to dispose of the child's remains after returning home while not. She was hoping nature would take care of it, so she could not be labeled a killer because she is a coward. However, the child surprised her because its a fighter.

3 ( +11 / -8 )

Disgusting! What selfish monster. I pray the child recovers and finds a loving family.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

Safety on defenseless infants, kids and the weak will never become better in Japan…it’s a cultural thing! Even local city Government and child service authorities don’t do anything to protect children from abusing parents in Japan! They simply join that department for the pay check and laziness working style rather than love and dedication towards child safety! The dark side of Japan!

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Baby hatch!

Please install more so "I don't know" mothers can at least give their babies to someone that will care for it

4 ( +7 / -3 )

This is tragic, Police quoted Matsuura, saying she knew she had not provided adequate support for her child after she was born but didn’t know what to do". Again the system failing the kid having a kid!! In Japan sexual images are everywhere. Here you have a 22 year old women who knows how to do the do, but when she has a child she cared for 9 months, she didn't know what to do? She had 9 months to learn what adequate child care was! Again sex education is I guess a no no to talk about in schools but how often do we read about these types of incidents. Here you have a 22 year old with a childish mindset who thinks its more important to tend the bar than care for her own child. Where is the love?

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

@ purple_depressed_bacon You touched on an issue that is nearly 100% of the systemic problems that has manifested for years in Japan. GENDER ROLES what is expected of one and not expected, what is accepted and not accepted. I agree nothing will change!!

Japan because gods' forbid the father shares any responsibility for a life he's half responsible for creating. Child-rearing is a woman's job and all that jazz. Utter nonsense. The continued subscription to gender roles and the stubborn, desperate clinging to the patriarchal credo is what's contributing to cases like this along with a myriad of other social issues. Unfortunately, given just how allergic Japan is to any sort of change and progress, nothing will be done and its people will continue to suffer because of it.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

@gogogo This women had 9 months to think about what she wanted to do with her child. She probably passed many Baby Hatches on her way to work at the bar!! Perhaps she never took the time to find out what they were, the only hatch she thought would make her free was the toilet in her apartment. That was her mindset, what she did was what little Johnny would do and that is throw his truck in the toilet, this is what a kid does throw a toy in the toilet. This was a women, with a mindset of a kid having a kid.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Japan because gods' forbid the father shares any responsibility for a life he's half responsible for creating.

Unless the dad’s a foreigner, in which case, he can pound sand regardless.

As mentioned above, baby hatches need to become far more widespread and if there aren’t sanctuary laws covering places like hospitals, firehouses, and police stations, there really need to be.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

The poor mother -- she was probably in shock from giving birth! I hope she gets the help she clearly needs, and is well enough to be reunited with her baby someday.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

what she did might be criminal, but she needs help more than being corrected/arrested for her actions. What does arresting her achieve other than buffing that 99.999% conviction rate?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

You would think, even possibly not knowing what to do , that someone would have a feeling of compassion, sense or whatever so as to at least take the newborn out of the toilet. Would you leave your (anything) in a toilet?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

"A simple and humane comment like this being downvoted is simply pathetic! Some people are just idiots and lack any amount of intelligence to downvote these types of comments! Shame on them!!!"

.....

This is one of the symptoms of the counter-controlling mechanisms and disdain for non-J, making criticism.

Due to censorship I can not bring more refs, and their myriad of societal issues in that regard.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

@kaimycahl: There is only 1 baby hatch in Japan, she clearly had no idea about it much like you.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

I’m not pro or anti abortion. I’m pretty neutral and it’s a woman’s choice. But like others have said, she carried the child to full term. Japan is one of the easiest countries to get an abortion in. She could of nipped it in the bud if she “didn’t know what to do”.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Considering the timing and the baby being in the toilet, I wonder if she decided to get drunk or take some sort of drug while she was in labor and then basically passed out after....

It is good the infant wasn't face down in the water....

I have to guess she didn't have anyone she felt she could trust or she was too ashamed to involve anyone else....

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

timeonMar. 15  05:34 pm JST

Reading the article makes this horrible story even worse: she didn't leave the baby "unattended", she tossed the poor baby in the damn toilet!

Babies are too big to be flushed. That mother left the poor kid because she hoped that the baby girl would drown in the yucky filthy bowl. Child endangerment, child abandonment, attempted murder. Enough crimes here to put her away for a long time.

> TigerMar. 15  08:56 pm JST

Disgusting! What selfish monster. I pray the child recovers and finds a loving family.

My sediments exactly. And she's old enough to know better than to be fooling around. if you get pregnant and bear a child, you'd better be ready because you now have a big responsibility.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

she knew she had not provided adequate support for her child after she was born but didn’t know what to do.

So, leaving the baby in the toilet bowl was her solution? She wanted the baby to die but got a case of the guilts and called the cops after the baby stayed alive. Must be a healthy baby. Hopefully, it will go to home where it is loved.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"Police in Saitama City have arrested a 22-year-old woman on suspicion of parental neglect after she left her newborn baby girl unattended for nine hours after giving birth in the toilet at her apartment."

Good old Japan -- calling attempted murder "neglect" and no doubt they will force the mother to just spend more time with the child she tried to kill... and next time we'll read about murder -- err.... "improper disposal of a corpse".

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

She probably doesn't even know who the father is. The police aren't going to DNA-test all 12 suspects, especially since Mom probably can't remember who half of them are.

What kind of support mechanisms are in place for single parents in Japan?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

finally richMar. 15  05:16 pm JST

This is one of the many societal issues that need to be addressed more in Japan, sex education is non existent, 

It ain't much better in the USA. Some schools still address the 'abstinence only' ideal but then when it comes to sexual assault/rape then 'she asked for it'. Keep it all outta sight! That and the 'Scarlet Letter' mentality still pervades. Society in America doesn't give a **** either.

CaptDingleheimerMar. 16  09:40 pm JST

She probably doesn't even know who the father is. The police aren't going to DNA-test all 12 suspects, especially since Mom probably can't remember who half of them are.

What kind of support mechanisms are in place for single parents in Japan?

'Slutification' attitudes.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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