Father suspected of forcing daughter to lie about abuse before her death

Sorry but heads gotta roll here, a bow and an excuse is NOT acceptable. This is a grave failure by everyone involved resulting in her death. Also im in favor of giving Child Protection services more power to be able to do their task "PROTECT CHILDREN". A knock on the door to check in on someone is NOT protecting.

These people at the child welfare center needs to be charged for accessory to murder, neglect of duty, etc...

So, he told her to write a letter saying he doesn't beat her by threatening to beat her? The child welfare workers might as well be AI robots for the amount of conclusive and deductive thinking they use. She was in a hostel after being beaten by her father. Then, she turned around and wrote a letter stating she doesn't get beaten by her father and these idiots accepted it and sent her home where, a few weeks later, she was killed by her father. They are seriously just 'king morons!

What were these child protection people thinking? It's not like this was an unusual situation. Do they actually get training? Or are they just allocated to their roll as a stepping stone on their career path? A total failure on so many levels. And as the cause of death is now subjective the dad will probably get very little punishment, another fail by a failed justice system.

This entire situation is repugnant and tragic. When will Japan learn that this internet thing allows for easy sharing of information across all child welfare offices in Japan?

Sorry but heads gotta roll here.

Exactly. The child welfare services, govt and police should be brought to account by the media and the nation as a whole.

I still remember hundreds of thousands of Belgians marching in the streets of Brussels to protest against police incompetence following the Dutroux scandal in the 90s. Wake up Japan!

this pos needs to die a slow painful death

So sad Mia was forced to confess for something she didn’t do.

@ do the hustle - that's BS, if this bastard hadn't deliberately and with malice aforethought beaten and tortured this little girl, there would have been no need for agencies to get involved. She is dead because of his intentional actions.

The father bullied the officials and they just caved. How is this protecting the child? So badly handled and almost criminal!

I guess being forced to write the letter was not considered abuse?

Japan is not the only country with child abuse issues, but among developed countries, it seems to be the least prepared and among the most haphazard in how it tackles them.

While my own country has some shocking cases of abuse going unseen in clear sight of those that should see (teachers, doctors etc), a case of showing the letter and then not acting on subsequent information about the letter being made-up would be clear breaches of basic procedure. Sharing the child's letter would have been a breach of the law and unthinkable. Japan has a very long way to go.

What I also do not see is a willingness to learn the lessons and change procedures nationally. Perhaps it does happen, but I rather doubt it, because otherwise we would not be in this situation with a very preventable death.

Do Japan a favor and put him away for 30 years.

Terrible thing to happen.

Lifes hard enough without someone making it worse.

that's BS, if this bastard hadn't deliberately and with malice aforethought beaten

You could have simply said first degree murder.

and tortured this little girl, there would have been no need for agencies to get involved. She is dead because of his intentional actions.

He is the direct cause of her death. The child welfare agencies and school are proximate causes. Had those entities been more competent, this little girl would still be alive.

After her return home in Noda, Chiba Prefecture last March, the girl told a center official at her school that her father had actually made her write the letter

This should surely have led to the automatic return of the girl to protection, out of the father's way. Even if they had fell for the original letter, they did not need any more. Her blood is now on the official's hands and all those that knew.

Her father was arrested the next day on suspicion of assault, but an autopsy failed to determine the cause of the girl's death.

One of the many peculiarities of Japan's justice system is that murderers can walk free due to a willingness to accept circumstantial evidence.

More professional and cultural disinterest and incompetence. How on earth was the father allowed unsupervised contact with his daughter while she was at the welfare centre. Do child welfare jobs require ANY qualifications or training?

Terrible thing to happen. 

Lifes hard enough without someone making it worse.

Hit the nail on the head with a framing hammer.

They give him the copy, they'd trusted more the father than to Mia, poor liltle child RIP

Our role is to protect children's lives. We truly feel sorry," Nihei said at a press conference.

Sorry in these cases just doesnt cut it. How many other children in your care are facing similar circumstances! YOU and those involved should be charged and sent to jail fro negligence!

Sometimes I still can't believe that this sort of cruelness was brought by your own parents.

I think a big part of this problem is that Japan doesn't really understand what abuse is yet, and the damaging effects of it. Abuse is happening right now, in many facets of J-society. They often don't even see the problem (or pretend that they don't).

Sorry, Japan - it really is time to join the 21st century.

The Authorities should send this "male creature" to Jail for life causing this innocent Girl to suffer the way she did!

Makes me sad to imagine what she must have felt when she wrote "I'm sorry" at the end of the letter, there was absolutely nothing she should have felt sorry for, there was absolutely nothing she did to deserve what she got, yet, she had to write she was sorry.

To imagine how she must have felt, how much tears she swallowed, how much pain she endured, how miserable she must have felt.. to imagine how she felt every time she saw happy families outside, how she felt when she saw a happy daddy and daughter outside, how she must have felt every time she realized she didn't have what she should have deserved.

To be showered with cold water, how miserable she must have felt, like a wet cat, how she must have felt when there was no dinner in the evening, how she must have felt when she saw bruises on her skin.

I would like to ask those teachers and authorities who failed her, how they would have felt if it were their own child, I would like to ask them how in the world they could have slept at night without checking on her to make sure she was alright after returning the girl to her monster father. I do not need to see them apologize but I want to hear what's on their mind now and how they feel now.

The girl will never be returned to this world. I am angry, I so wish I could squeeze this girl and make her feel safe, make dinner for her and talk to her. I don't know this girl, but my thoughts are with this little angel. RIP..

@sensei258 - this pos needs to die a slow painful death

Nah, can’t agree with that. This delusional psycho believed he was doing no wrong. He was most likely brought up the sane way, but survived. The problem lays within the the powers and perception of the family services who sent this kid back to be murdered. They have very little power and obviously no perception. As a result, this poor little girl was beaten to death by her father. So sad! :-(

What are you all complaining about? Kohai and Sempai bullying....sports coach students bullying. Classmates bullying. Boss and employees bullying. Father was probably taught to bully his kids cuz his father bullied him, and HIS father bullied him and HIS father bullied him and HIS father bullied him and was bullied by his Edo jidai samurai father. Don't complain. Because This Is Japan.