5-year-old boy abused by mother’s boyfriend dies of injuries

Despicable animal. Killing a little boy who deserved so much better than endless abuse and ultimately murder. I hope the animal expires in jail.

The woman is a pathetic excuse for a "mother" and deserves to be haunted every night of her life by that little boy. No real mother would ever allow their childcare to be abused and not tell the police.

After witnessing the abuse it was obviously more important for her to have a boyfriend than protect her son.

The boy’s mother told police Yamamoto had hit her son at least seven times, including slapping his face, to discipline him since late January.

So she is also complicit in the abuse through negligence. They both should be tried and locked up for this poor kid's death.

No words. The mother is complicit with this heinous crime and deserves to swing too. RIP little boy.

String this animal up!!!

What? A 5 year boy abused by 40 year boyfriend of a woman? For how many years? Five? The woman must have known and witnessed the years of abuse which finished with the poor, helpless, innocent, little boy's death? The woman and her boyfriend are both murderers of the boy and must be sentenced to life with no parole.

Awful...tears...poor little kiddo...

Absolutely heartbreaking. May God now care for the poor little fellow.

Throw them both in jail.

For life. It doesn't matter where.

Or in fact, make it a deep hole. What's the difference?

Eye for an eye!

Hang him 'til he's dead, dead, dead!

Where was the boy's father?

Society, and the Japanese government, should be promoting marriage, the union of a man and woman, and the right of children to have a relationship with the two people who brought him or her into being.

They do; married couples in Japan get various benefits. This is where the problem with same-sex marriage being illegal kicks in - same-sex couples are not allowed to participate in these benefits, making them legally a lesser class within society.

So the Japanese government and society do promote marriage - unless the person you love shares the same genitalia as you, in which case too bad, which is pretty shameful of Japan.

Totally insane!! Ok, Yamamoto got angry because he saw the 5 year old boy taking money out of his mother’s wallet. Well I be damn!! Yamamoto, was doing worse he had no job, according to the article he moved in with the mother and her son perhaps he had no home and he is angry because he saw a 5 year old taking money I guess that he felt he should have been stealing because no job, no home he did worse. According to the article the boy’s mother told police Yamamoto had hit her son at least seven times, including slapping his face, to discipline him since late January, wow thats more than 7 times I bet!!! I don't get it the mother must have been desperate for companionship because what women now days want a man with no job, no money and no home coming into her home destroying it. One would think she was better off on her on, now she has to live with this.

A violent man kills a little boy. Presumably he is not above threatening and hurting the mother also. The mother manages to get help, but her beloved child dies. Japan Today posters, mostly male, blame the woman more than the man. I can't work it out.

Some people just don't get it. You need to re-read the story.

Yamamoto, of no fixed occupation,...

Well that's a start, we went from "unemployed" to "of no fixed occupation". Once again, is it possible that this "mother" as per story was a housewife, homemaker, family manager, home economist, home engineer, lady of the house, mistress of the house or wife and mother? If none of those apply maybe not mention anything pertaining to employment?

Well that's a start, we went from "unemployed" to "of no fixed occupation". Once again, is it possible that this "mother" as per story was a housewife, homemaker, family manager, home economist, home engineer, lady of the house, mistress of the house or wife and mother? If none of those apply maybe not mention anything pertaining to employment?

But that's information Japanese people want to know, and these news stories are in Japan, and come from Japanese media. Do you feel this information should be censored from those who wish to know?

StrangerlandToday 07:27 am JST

But that's information Japanese people want to know, and these news stories are in Japan, and come from Japanese media. Do you feel this information should be censored from those who wish to know?

Censorship involves the suppression or prohibition of information, not the assuming or misrepresentation of such. Do you feel that the media should be assuming information or just report the facts? Should they not also try their due diligence to not negatively portray the accused till proven guilty by a judge or jury of their peers? At best a "mother" is factual and does not misrepresent the status and terms like, unemployed, of no fixed address or of no fixed occupation are interpreted negatively by the Japanese in large.

I guess a retired person could also be considered "of no fixed occupation" as well but retiree would be more accurate or how about a university student, I guess technically they are unemployed but student better reflects their situation. To answer your question, information that is verified and factual should not be censored nor should it be assumed either.

Do you feel that the media should be assuming information or just report the facts?

Is the person's profession not a fact?

Should they not also try their due diligence to not negatively portray the accused till proven guilty by a judge or jury of their peers?

That's not something that can be answered in a single post, due to being an extremely nuanced topic. There are books written on the topic, and it differs by country. In some countries suspects names cannot be published, only the guilty. Other countries allow some degree of publishing names, in the public interest. I'm no expert on this matter, nor do I claim to be.

What I do know however, is that the profession of a person is of interest to Japanese people, due to how they learn history in school. They take an event, and look at it from all perspectives, to try to gain an understanding of how it all came about. Understanding the profession of the person is one part of that.

Agree with all here who want to hang this piece of filth. Although I would rather he be beaten to death. News like this is devastating.

Child abuse shouldn’t be tolerated. I hope he gets serious jail time. But why is the woman still with him after the first hitting to child. Japanese women are a bit crazy too. When you have kids, you need to chose someone who would be nice to your kids, not just appearing nice to you.

Kicking it's not a discipline it's torture. Put that BF in prison for 20 years.