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Woman arrested for leaving newborn baby in hotel room’s toilet bowl

36 Comments

Police in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, have arrested a 29-year-old woman after she left her newborn baby girl in a love hotel room’s toilet bowl on Tuesday.

Police said Akiko Okamura, a part-time worker residing in Osaka City’s Naniwa Ward, was charged with attempted murder after the infant, with its umbilical cord still attached, was found in the toilet bowl with the lid down, Kyodo News reported. An employee who came to clean the room heard a baby crying and found the infant in the toilet. The infant was taken to hospital where doctors said her condition is stable.

Police said Okamura told them she gave birth while seated on the toilet at around 4 a.m. on Tuesday. She had been staying by herself in the room.

According to police, Okamura was using the love hotel for sex work for the brothel which employed her. She was quoted as saying “I didn’t feel any affection [toward the baby] and didn’t intend to raise her. I didn’t really care if she died after leaving her in the toilet.”

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36 Comments
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Sad disregard for life and just common decency - Second toilet “bowl” baby abandonment reported on this site in recent months hence clarification with the additional word “bowl” ….

Mar 15, 2021: “https://japantoday.com/category/crime/22-year-old-woman-arrested-for-leaving-newborn-baby-unattended-for-9-hours” -

versus the closet-sized room, full-sized adult-corpse “toilet” abandonment reported last week.

May 5, 2021: “https://japantoday.com/category/crime/woman-arrested-for-keeping-mother's-corpse-in-toilet-at-home

8 ( +11 / -3 )

@PepperLunch

Might be a tall order to establish who the father is in view of her profession.

7 ( +12 / -5 )

Do Japanese have place such as Police station or Fire station,where babies can be dropped off,instead of being abandoned

6 ( +11 / -5 )

My only hope is that this girl NEVER learns her birth history...and the mother, what horrors must she have endured in her life to seem so dead inside...and how thankful most of us should be that we don't know...

4 ( +14 / -10 )

Infants are the most innocent of victims.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Thankfully the baby survived this time. Many do not survive being dumped by parents in Japan.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Maybe they can provide her with a safe sex course whilst in jail. So many couples cannot conceive, yet this cold hearted animal can throw away a baby like a piece of trash. Beggars belief.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

The thing that amaze me the most is how easy it is for them to just give birth in the toilet without even going to the hospital. I saw my wife gave birth at the hospital before. Is not a pretty sight. This woman should go see a doctor at least.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

HERE WE GO AGAIN! I posted earlier about another mother dumping her baby in the trash and got some thumb downs. I don't get the logic of some of the people here. This lady as I said about the other one who dumped her baby in the trash. These women are SELFISH!! Here is the mindset "She was quoted as saying “I didn’t feel any affection [toward the baby] and didn’t intend to raise her. I didn’t really care if she died after leaving her in the toilet.”

3 ( +7 / -4 )

@James and a condom cost how much??? That's easy math!! What these women are finding out, is its easy to get in, but hard to get out!

@Lindsay

An abortion costs around ¥600,000.

No it doesn't it costs around ¥80,000.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

purple_depressed_bacon

Hang her. 

Again, when did attempted murder (not 1st or 2nd degree murder, or even manslaughter) become a capital crime?

3 ( +6 / -3 )

I hope the baby can find a warm and loving family who will raise her with love...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Why carry it to full term if she didn't want it?

2 ( +10 / -8 )

Toilet bowl today, garbage dump yesterday, and likely coin lockers every day in between and then some. Maybe revisiting the debate about "baby hatches" and how stupid it is to suggest they will lead to more abandonment instead of childrearing is in order? I am glad they are charging this woman with attempted murder, though given that a child's life is worth so little here she'll likely see a couple months, tops.

2 ( +14 / -12 )

Heartless

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Purple, abortions in Japan are technically illegal, so there are circumstances where that is simply not available.

Not according to Google:

Abortions in Japan are available according to the conditions of the Maternal Protection Law, and up to 21 weeks and 6 days of pregnancy (in other words, within 21 weeks and 6 days after the start of the last menstrual period)

https://telljp.com/lifeline/tell-chat/homepage/resources/pregnancy-options/

2 ( +2 / -0 )

She may have lived a horrible life in the past where her family wasn't able to provide enough for her education hence why she had no choice but to work in the sex industry. She most likely got pregnant from a client and given the amount of times she may have had to interact with other clients, it may have been hard to decipher when and whom got her pregnant. When she found out she was pregnant , it may have been too late for her to go to the clinic or she may have not had the money. The child's father could be unknown and given that he is a guy who uses these types of services, he could have been a scum bag anyways. This leads to her not caring for the child hence the horrible act of leaving the child in the toilet.

I do not condone these types of acts, but let's not get too judgmental over how horrible this person may or may not be. This is not the first case in Japan and we continue to see rising cases over the previous years. Hopefully we can increase care centers that will help advise these women before it is too late. These centers can advise on career path, address any drug related issues, provide rehab, look into financial situations and properly advice on how to rebuild, post advise on how to raise children, send child to orphanage if all criteria isn't met, etc.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Again, when did attempted murder (not 1st or 2nd degree murder, or even manslaughter) become a capital crime?

When she admitted that she didn't care if her CHILD lived or died. It takes a seriously sick and cold person to do and admit to something so vile.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Purple, abortions in Japan are technically illegal, so there are circumstances where that is simply not available.

No contraception is perfect, and obviously the risk is higher for a sex worker.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

PepperLunchToday  07:17 pm JST

As Hiro mentioned having seen labour first hand it amazes me they can get up and carry on afterwards with no medical care

Not necessarily her first child, could have been her second or third, who knows.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

So sad but I bet there is no investigation into the brothel she works for which probably controls her through drugs, fear and or extortion or all 3!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

“I didn’t feel any affection [toward the baby] and didn’t intend to raise her. I didn’t really care if she died after leaving her in the toilet.”

real piece of work this one is. mother of the year type.. pff

Just like the other one the other day that dumped her baby's body in the trash.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

kaimycahlMay 11  09:37 pm JST

HERE WE GO AGAIN! I posted earlier about another mother dumping her baby in the trash and got some thumb downs. I don't get the logic of some of the people here. This lady as I said about the other one who dumped her baby in the trash. These women are SELFISH!! Here is the mindset "She was quoted as saying “I didn’t feel any affection [toward the baby] and didn’t intend to raise her. I didn’t really care if she died after leaving her in the toilet.”

It's obvious she just wanted to trash this unwanted kid so she could get back to 'work'. Cold, selfish and not very human.

 am guessing that she is probably not very smart.

Nope.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Carrying a child and still working in the sex industry?

In such a image concscious country amazes me the brothel did not kick her to the kerb or was she not showing much.?

Serious reforms are needed for this, be it baby hatches reduced abortion costs or better support all round for women in this postion.

As Hiro mentioned having seen labour first hand it amazes me they can get up and carry on afterwards with no medical care

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

Obviously, some women go insane when they end up with unwanted pregnancy, with no way of stopping it.

I wouldn't be surprised if they can't feel any emotional connection or responsibility for the baby, if it's just something that their body produced against their will. And then they end up looking for ways to get back to their past lives by getting rid of the baby in secret.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

samuraivunyl

What a monster. Of course there will be many comments claiming her actions were the results of ' patriarchal socitetal oppression' when they won't admit this POS deserves nothing but a noose around her neck

Since when has the punishment for attempted murder been the death penalty?

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

Purple,Lots of people do not have paternal or maternal instinct,they just raise children, because they are legal obligated to do so,and feel resentful , because they want other things to do in their lives,than raise a child,then the child suffer for that

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

“I didn’t feel any affection [toward the baby] and didn’t intend to raise her. I didn’t really care if she died after leaving her in the toilet.”

Hang her. Don't want a child? Fine. Use goddamn contraceptives and get on the pill. Condom broke? Well she could have gotten an abortion. If she carried the pregnancy to term only to dump the baby in a toilet, not caring if she lived or died, she doesn't mercy or freedom. I'm absolutely disgusted by this "person's" actions. At the very least she should have dropped the baby off at the nearest clinic or hospital.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

@Lindsay

An abortion costs around ¥600,000.

No it doesn't it costs around ¥80,000.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Mat - Why carry it to full term if she didn't want it?

An abortion costs around ¥600,000. Dumping a baby in a toilet is free.

-6 ( +5 / -11 )

Better education and choices around protection would be very useful.

The father of this child unless was unfortunate his protection split or she lied about her own contraception should be on the chopping board for this also.

Despicable behaviour from both

-7 ( +4 / -11 )

I wonder if the brothel she was working for had some demand from its clientele for heavily pregnant girls?

-10 ( +4 / -14 )

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