Ailing woman dies at home while son spends month in internet cafes

Is this even a crime？

74 is not old, unless she was unable or sick she could have easily taken care of herself.

Tony GToday  04:24 pm JST

Is this even a crime？

Abandoning a ill person to die is definitely a crime.

Not a lot reported in the article. Evidently there is some suspension of wrong doing in that the police have made an arrest.

Did he have a legal obligation to care for her, the way a parent or legal guardian has a legal obligation to care for/ and provide the necessities of life for child?

Did he list her as his "dependent" on his taxes, and if so, would that be enough to demonstrate he had a legal obligation to care and provide for her?

(I'm strictly speaking "Legal" here, not moral. that is a separate argument).

What wonderful family values. “Thanks mum, now die.” After many years of teaching in Japan I have lost count of how many middle-aged people have told me that are just waiting for their parents to die. Even my ex-wife said the sane thing about her parents. One more time, “There is no love in Japan!” Families are duty in Japan. Ask a teenager how old their parents are and when their birthday is. Most will not be able to tell you. Then, ask them how old their grandparents are and when their birthdays are. 99% will have no answer. There is no live in Japanese families.

I am wondering if she was partially paralyzed or confined to her bed due a stroke or other medical condition. Did she have dementia? Did he lock her inside? We definitely need more information.

Not saying he should abandon her, but does he have a legal responsibility to stay home and take care of her?

My reading of the article is that she was physically dependent upon him and that he made a deliberate decision to leave the house until she died, presumably of heatstroke combined with dehydration. A particularly nasty way to die.

If he was registered as her carer in some way and would have known what would have happened if he left the house, then it is as good as murder.

What wonderful family values. “Thanks mum, now die.” After many years of teaching in Japan I have lost count of how many middle-aged people have told me that are just waiting for their parents to die. Even my ex-wife said the sane thing about her parents. One more time, “There is no love in Japan!” Families are duty in Japan. Ask a teenager how old their parents are and when their birthday is. Most will not be able to tell you. Then, ask them how old their grandparents are and when their birthdays are. 99% will have no answer. There is no live in Japanese families.

I barely remember my dad's birthday every year because I already hang out with him all the time. We don't celebrate birthdays. It's not important. Birthdays and age are just numbers and events. If that is so important to you then maybe you should rethink what actual values are.

Not saying he should abandon her, but does he have a legal responsibility to stay home and take care of her?

Legal responsibility? No. Moral responsibility? Yes. This woman was his mother.

She could have been an abusive witch to him and he decided to just wait out the clock until she died. 

I have no words.

I do wonder how many adult males out there are care givers and are capable of feeding their parents, changing their parents' diapers, bathing their parents for years on end, let alone some game addict.