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Baby boy dies in locked car while mother plays pachinko in Akita

96 Comments

An 11-month-old baby boy died in a locked car after his mother left him to go and play pachinko for nearly three hours in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, on Thursday afternoon. Police on Friday morning arrested the baby's mother, 31-year-old Junko Hori, on a charge of abandonment resulting in death.

According to police, Hori left the child, Ryusei, in the car between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. She parked her car at the end of the large parking lot and closed all the windows, leaving Ryusei buckled in his childseat. When she returned to the car, she found Ryusei lifeless and took him to a nearby hospital, where he was confirmed dead soon after. Doctors believe he died due to dehydration.

There was no shade in the parking lot, and at the entrance of the pachinko parlor was a poster warning parents not to leave their children in the car.

According to the Akita area meteorological observatory, the temperature on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in the area was 29.3 degrees.

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96 Comments
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Another loss due to selfishness...

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Another one! What a wonderful thing Pachinko is.

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I've made this comment 198 times, so here goes 199. Some parents in Japan regard their young children as little more than laundry to be dropped off, picked up or left in the car.

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Words fail me

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Life imprisonment would be too lenient for this low life

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Stuuuuuupid! I hope he haunts her for the rest of her life.

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Yes, how stupid and selfish.

Sterilization, I say!

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I hope he haunts her for the rest of her life.

Agreed

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what a b!tch of a mother, prosecuters need to send a message and demand jail time for this.

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Is pachinko really this exciting? So much so that one becomes engrossed in it for hours at the expense of their child's life?

I have tried to enter a couple of times to give it a whirl, but it is way too smoky and noisy in there.

RIP this poor kid.

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Don't have anything good to say about this at the moment.

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Can we lock her in a car in the sun and see how she likes it?? Where the hell are family values and caring in japan?? Again when anyone can prove by arguement that this is ok, you may comment on my comment!!! Till then I hope this piece of human trash feels remorse and self loathing till the day she dies. (which I hope is soon)

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May you rest in piece little angel, I hope you are never reunited with that thing. My tears are for you.

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I'm getting so sick to the soul of saying those words "RIP" slim mothers and fathers get your act together!!!

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This beggars belief. I just cannot understand how anyone could think to leave their child in a car with no windows open in the boiling heat.

What an absolute bellend.

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Alot of people don't realize how quickly the car heats up in a sun, and if you have a baby, they can have dehydration within 1 hour that can result in a death. Even if the windows are slightly open, sometimes it does not make any difference. Many people put dogs inside the car in a heat and the results are the same. The govenment should have awareness information regarding this subject. This mother is going to grieve for the rest of her life. It's more of stupidity than intentional.

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11 months old -- I wonder how much he cried and screamed while being stuck in the carseat and unable to get out.. As a mother myself, I cannot imagine how the mother could have even not think about the baby while playing pachinko.. I understand Pachinko can be addictive, but still... the most important thing should be the baby.

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I guess the habit of gambling becomes stronger than the motivation to care for the children. RIP to this little boy.

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why am I crying..

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maybe pachinko places should be required to have a daycare inside of the building!!!

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Since this almost always seems to happen at pachinko parlors, why not make them partially liable and force them have checkers walking the parking lots looking for children left in cars alone? They make a ton of money encouraging people to get addicted and spend hours in front of those machines. Come to think of it, why not have childcare rooms at pachinko parlors where the parents can leave the kids in a safe, smoke-free place?

Or make a law saying that any child found alone in a car will immediately be cause for calling the police and the adult responsible will be fined or worse. They do it for illegal parking, keitai use, safety belts, etc.

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why am I crying...

It's the nature of your gender, m'am.

-Nothin' wrong with that.

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Now I understand why they ban pachinkos and gambling in certain countries. In an Asian country, Casino and Pachinkos are only for foreigners. I saw a few chrome plated boards that say Foreigners only. What do you say about that kind of racism!

That thing is not a human being. A short life of 11 months and that amount of suffering - that precious child did not have to go through all that. I bow to my mother and all those wonderful ones who treasure their children.

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Throw her in a glass cube for 3 hours and watch her melt. I CAN'T BELIEVE the stupidness of the people who leave their children in the car for hours just so they can get their pachinko fix in this country. And sadly this will not be the last time. What is the next person (next moron who will leave their child in the car in the future)thinking now when they hear this story?? Lock this mother up for every year she has robbed this little baby from living on this planet.

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The government should have awareness information regarding this subject.

It's hardly rocket science sfip330. Any loving, caring parent wouldn't leave their little ones to fend for themselves whilst feeding their addiction. The problem lies in the social ills of seeking help for addictions and mental problems. I imagine this case is one where the mother uses her pachinko addiction to divert her away from other problems.

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This must be the 10th time I've read such an article over the years. Its such a pity....Locker up the mother and throw away the key. This is such a meaningless death. They should pass a law that pachinko parlours are required to hire security guards who's job is to patrol the car park and tow away any car with a child inside unattended. They should have the right to break into the car and takle the child out. Instead blaring out which pachinko machine has started the lucky fever, they can blare across the PA system, which car has just been towed away and for the owner to come forward. That way the stupid punter can walk across teh floor for all to see.

Knowing hwat happens in japan, they'll probably park further away from teh pachinko parlour and still do the same idotic stupid thing...

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This is one of those occasions when "an eye for an eye" does not seem all that barbaric anymore. Hey, lady, what will it be, 3 hours locked up in a car around noon on a sunny summer day or 10 years in prison?

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Her attorney may plead that pachinko winnings were her household's sole source of income.

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I despise Pachinko for so many reasons, this being one them. This loathsome woman is a disgrace and should face a lenghty prison time. Pehaps the annoying, bowing, road blocking idiots with the little wands who "direct" traffic - when it doesnt need directing in the first place should be required as part of their job description to patrol the carpark at regular intervals checking for this kind of thing. Would solve the problem, the deaths are the tip of the iceberg - how many thousand small children unfortunate to be born to loser parents are imprisoned in pachinko carparks each week and are lucky to survive? Pachinko parlours need to step up the plate, a couple of posters at the door isn't cutting it.

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poor boy. i feel so sad that he suffered before he passed away. he must've been so scared. the things i wish for this woman i cannot say publicly, so let's just hope she gets what she deserves.

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The most amazing thing is that anyone can live in Japan and be so completely uninformed and unaware that they don't know you don't leave kids in a car. Stupidity is one thing, but no matter how stupid you are, how you can you avoid knowing that?

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I can't believe how some people here are actually blaming Pachinko Parlours or Japan as a whole?!?!?! That's even more idiotic. It's the stupid parents fault, has nothing to do with the Pachinko and they shouldn't be held accountable for someone elses stupid problems anyway.

It's always a result of STUPID PEOPLE.

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Since this almost always seems to happen at pachinko parlors, why not make them partially liable and force them have checkers walking the parking lots looking for children left in cars alone? They make a ton of money encouraging people to get addicted and spend hours in front of those machines. Come to think of it, why not have childcare rooms at pachinko parlors where the parents can leave the kids in a safe, smoke-free place? Or make a law saying that any child found alone in a car will immediately be cause for calling the police and the adult responsible will be fined or worse. They do it for illegal parking, keitai use, safety belts, etc.

All excellent ideas!

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30 y/o woman, likely, low self esteem, finds herself pregnant. Kid turns out to be not the answer to her prayers, but a new adventure in the nightmare of daily life. She leaves him in the car for only a few moments respite, loses track of time. This happens all too easily in world filled with six billion people, many of whom simply do not value life all that much. This woman has brought irreparable shame to her entire family, and likely extreme hatred from the poor kid's father's family.

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I wonder how much he cried and screamed while being stuck in the carseat and unable to get out

If it was dehydration, I would guess there wasn't a whole lot of anything happening

What a horrible way to go :-(

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It just amazes me how many times this happens, it seems like every year. When are people going to learn. I guess they won't really, people being people these accidents will just go on being repeated endlessly until people are replaced by robots or something.

Pity there couldn't be a certain piece of software we could have inserted into our brains at birth that would prevent us from doing silly stuff ... like leaving a child in a locked up car during summer.

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I cannot understand how common this is. Every year babies and children die in a car left by their pachinko-addicted parents, and every year there are still people who think it is safe to leave babies in cars... This has to be a new kind of fine: if leaving a kid in there costs you 10 times a normal parking ticket, then it might give some food for thought

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Pretty sad, I have heard of the same sort of thing happening in New Zealand when mother's go and play the "pokies" (poker machines). I feel sorry for the mum and of course the child in this situation. It is really sad that her addiction got that bad that she didn't mind leaving her child in the car. Was this the first time or had it happened before? I don't think it is the pachinko palours responsibility but that being said the cause of this is probably problem gambling... it seems as though pachinko/slot halls are not really that regulated in Japan and its a bit of a grey area, due to this I wonder how much help is available for problem gamblers in Japan?

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Demashita!

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It is insane. However, the Japanese court does not realize this is murder and cases like these let the parent(s) off with less than 5 years imprisonment. They even offer suspended sentences.

Sooooo insane....

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This happens so much in Japan, the government seriously needs to admit that pachinko is gambling for money and not for prizes (since gambling is illegal in Japan). It is a serious double standard that is allowed in Japan without check, with the government admitting this they could put regulations on gambling establishments... sounds like alot of work so I hardly guess it would happen.

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Blaming Pachinko Palours doesn't solve anything. Maybe we should blame Grocery stores, hair salons, and other business's as well. I think it's sad that some people are quick to try to place blame elsewhere. As far as someones suggestion to leave the responsible parent in the car for 3 hours as a form of punishment, that wouldn't be very effective. Children's body temperature doesn't regulate itself as well as adults. A child's core temperature can can rise 3 to 5 times faster than an adult. That is why it is even more dangerous for a child. Not to mention an 11 month old might not quite have the cognitive ability to figure out ways to cool themselves down. That said I wouldn't feel bad if this woman suffered a similar demise, but that still won't take this infant's suffering back. I would be much happier to know that she got a clue, and spends the rest of her life being reminded of her mistake and suffering from that.

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Ah yes, a modern Japanese summer tradition along with drownings at the beach. I wonder what the Haiku poet Matsuo Basho would have made of this.

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Stories like this makes me ANGRY really iwishicouldsaybadwords angry! What a lousy no good mother! Leave her little one, 11 months old? He knew probably knew how to say "mama." He was probably crying for mama as she let him die in the car, all alone!!! I'm sorry, but I really truly think that something like this... the woman should be locked in a car until she dies as well. There is NO excuse for it, never NEVER leave your child alone in a car!

Then I read nemoflow's response and .... kind of agree. Still angry... and grrr....

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Hot a** Japan summer and a woman leaves a baby in a car... Shame!

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niibu_yaa: You're missing one basic distinction, and that's the addictive nature of pachinko for some people. People don't go to the grocery store or hair salon and lose track of time to the same extent. I don't think we should blame the pachinko parlors specifically, but for a mother to leave her child in the car while she plays is quite a bit different from leaving the child in the car while she buys some groceries (getting her hair done is pretty borderline, if you ask me -- some hairstylists take just a few minutes, others take considerably longer!). It is sickening to think that for this woman, the prospect of winning a few yen (or recouping her loss) was more important to her than her child's well-being. To speculate that she actually did it on purpose seems rather unfounded, though. It's not unreasonable to think that maybe pachinko parlors should perhaps post some kind of public-service message around the place, or occasionally make an announcement, to the effect of "We appreciate your patronage -- however, please be sure not to leave your child in the car."

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Blaming Pachinko Palours doesn't solve anything.

niibu_yaa you're absolutely wrong! You be amazed how much a company starts to share responsibility once something like this cuts into their profits. Having been an executive at several major Japanese companies, I can tell that for certain that unless money is taken out their pockets, this will continue. Getting them involved with even parking monitors will add to the workforce and save lives. How could it hurt?

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Yeah, I have to agree. Responsible, maybe not at all. But it still wouldn't cost the companies squat to have someone peek in all the cars once every 45 minutes or so. Require smoking employees to look in cars while they take a smoke break.

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Just the fact that there are posters to warn parents not to let children in the car shows there is something wrong in japan ... Once, in a parking lot of a supermarket, I saw a car with the engine still running with no one on the driving seat. It was next to my car so when I entered I took a look and saw a baby there, crying and trying to get out of the baby-seat. I was shocked and thought how it was dangerous for the baby... so many things could have happened. I waited in my car thinking what I should do (call the police, try to find the parents etc ...) and 10 minutes later the mother came back with her purchases ... I wanted to tell her something but I was so mad that I wouldn't have been able to express myself, specially with my poor japanese ... I just stared at her with an angry look, hoping she would understand... (sorry for the long comment but that story reminded me that)

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Yeah, I have to agree. Responsible, maybe not at all. But it still wouldn't cost the companies squat to have someone peek in all the cars once every 45 minutes or so. Require smoking employees to look in cars while they take a smoke break.

Actually, an association of pachinko parlors (Zennichiyuren) implemented a plan to patrol the parking lot.

http://www.p-guide.com/stop/03.html

I'm not trying to mitigate this tragedy but believe it or not, there has only been 10 fatalities (3 in pachinko parlors) since 2004 before this incident.

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It must be devastating for the mother - to realize that her stupidity cost the life of her baby. (Or maybe she's a mother at the end of her tether and pachinko was her only escape - after all, there are so many women in Japan trapped in a loveless marriage and a life of drudgery!)

It takes a village to raise a child. You'd think that Japanese society would value children (especially in light of the current demographic crisis). So why aren't there creche facilities or at least a playpen or a childminder inside the pachinko parlor to keep an eye of the children? There's no reason why babies and small children shouldn't be allowed inside, despite the noise. They'll probably love the lights anyway. And maybe there could be a couple of machines with kids games. There are lots of possible solutions - shopping malls or supermarkets in other countries charge a small fee to look after your kids while you shop, or you simply bring baby along and let him potter around by your feet.

Part of the problem is also pure ignorance. Very few people have actually sat in a parked car with the windows up on a hot day - so we aren't really aware of how uncomfortable or dangerous it can be.

How many children die in this manner each year? How about a public information campaign in the form of TV ads and discussions on the early morning news programs that really drive home the message that a parked car can become a deadly furnace?

Kurisutofu, did you think to release the baby and hold it while either waiting for the mother or going inside to find her? At least you hung around until the mother came back, rather than simply drive off. If you find a baby inside a locked car then, yes, get a policeman immediately to open up the car. Or is that too "embarrassing" for Japanese people (or geijin)?

When it becomes a community concern then lives can be saved. Don't be so quick to judge individuals, no matter how stupid or ignorant. We all do really stupid things occasionally, and hopefully it doesn't cost lives when we do. Often it takes the nonjudgmental help from another person to avert disaster.

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Ugh what a horrible irresponsible and selfish mother! That poor baby ToT

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You be amazed how much a company starts to share responsibility once something like this cuts into their profits. Having been an executive at several major Japanese companies, I can tell that for certain that unless money is taken out their pockets, this will continue.

Well said Darknightnine and familywrongs. It should be a Corporate Social Responsibility.

Kurisutofu, if I had been in that situation as yours I would bring it to the attention of somebody. Maybe it works for me because I am a woman.Twice it worked well for me. I would rather die than see a baby suffer.

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How many children die in this manner each year?

While of course even one is too many, according to a post above yours, 10 since 2004, so it's not an epidemic- just a very few brainless parents.

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They now go after bar staff for serving people they know are going to drink and drive why not apply the same sort of logic to this scenario and go after the pachinko parlours.

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Another one! What a wonderful thing Pachinko is.

I think pachinko is stupid ... but blaming pachinko for the mother's horribly irresponsible behavior is ridiculous.

What if it had been a supermarket parking lot? Does that mean we should speak out against grocery shopping?

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They now go after bar staff for serving people they know are going to drink and drive why not apply the same sort of logic to this scenario and go after the pachinko parlours.

Yes, because the bar staff KNOWS that the person has drunk too much.

But how does the pachinko parlor staff know that one of the players has left a baby outside in the car?

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familywrongs, I admire your sympathy and imagination, but suggesting pachinko parlors to allow babies and tots is insane. It's not Disneyland. Not just the lights but also the smoke and the noise could be harming if not deadly. If you are a decent mother, you will never think of taking your child to such place, or even suggesting it.

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Yeah the answer is not providing daycare in the pachinko palour, that would only encourage more mothers to play pachinko, probably not something you want to encourage.

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lots of weird or sick parents in Japan ;)

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Certainly NOT the pachinko places jobs to start monitoring their parking lots for children. Why should they spend money because parents are stupid? It is the parent's responsibility to look after their kids. This is exactly why parents here suck so bad - everyone else looks after them except the parents!

As for stupid parents, I went to Nagashima Spaland yeseterday. Got off a ride to find a 2 or 3 year old sleeping in some cart like thing with no one in sight. My friends and I looked around for parents, asked a few people and I then went to complain to staff. We waited for about 10 minutes. Finally a mother and her 6-7 year old son got off the ride and came over. The staff said that we were worried about her child. No thank, no apology. Needless to say I got angry at the mother and flipped out. Told her she was a bad mother to leave her child alone, that is was dangerous and asked what would have happened if the child had woken up, had gotten sick or someone took her. The mother gave a very nasty "sumimasen" and walked off. I was very glad there was a crowd that saw me tell her off. Lord knows, she probably was there all day doing the same thing and no one probably said a word. Parents like these should have their kids taken from the and given to couples who can't have kids and want them.

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daycare in parlors is better than dead babies in cars, speaking of which, waaaaay too many of these here, If Japan needs children, these parents need educating, I propose a nation wide public awareness campaign. Penalties for offenders, rewards for those who spot children in locked cars.

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Daycares in pachinko places? Do you have any idea how much money that would cost? Parents could get a babysitter - silver services offer them or better yet, look after their kids and not go to these places in the first place. Why are so many of you trying to put the responsibility on these companies and not the parents? If money should be spent it should be on educating parents on how to look after their kids.

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Not an environment for a kid and just gives the parents more of an excuse to ignore their kids and play.

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In the last year I have read of several cases where busy parents have forgotten to drop off their babies at the daycare center and left them to roast in the parking lot of their workplaces. In one of the cases, it was a Japanese guy whose wife called him in the late afternoon to ask why their baby son was not at daycare, and he raced out to find the boy had died in the hot car. Sad, but not malicious.

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To be honest, pachinko players in general seems to be brainless and it's really wired to see commercials for such places even on tv (for money's sake)... But I agree, things like that can happen everywhere. At least here at my homecountry the parents will be hardly fined, if seen by police or someone report to them. Junko Hori, well, this destroyed your obviously already ruined life...

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It's not the pachinko parlour's fault. It could happen anywhere - the mother leaving the child to enter a 7 Eleven, thinking that it's going to be a minute to grab a coke or something..then she meets a friend and chats for an hour and voila, she forgets that she has a baby at the back of the car and drives home and park the car with the baby inside until she finds it dead the next day.

It's about habitual forgetfulness, extreme irresponsibility and plain outright obnoxious.

There are countless people who leaves their bunch of keys in the keyhole after opening the door, forgetting to switch off the tap or lights and the list goes on.

If you are lucky, no burglars enter your house while you are soundly asleep with the keys still in the key hole. Often it takes the partner/spouse (in my case it's the forgetful wife) to spot the over-heated pan, oven etc.

Until...something tragic happens. Poor baby, your mum has killed you and may she live with that horror for the rest of her life!!!

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sumer sumer time leave the baby in the car its pachinko time throw a few yen at it and unwind.....

WTF this happens all the time,

shell get a year and be allowed to to have more babies, come on its japan.

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Sounds like she wanted to child to die...with the backward legal system here she won't be charged with murder and probably knew it.

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Potsu: I agree. She probably parked in the hottest space available.

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It's in the family, she didn't know, she will bow, cry and say sorry... wont do time, in fact this will be the last we hear of this.

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How can you people blame the pachinko parlors?!? That's ridiculous. A child is the parents responsibility, Not he pachinko. Are you guys serious?

I say she should get life in prison. She took away a life, take away hers.

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Kurisutofu, did you think to release the baby and hold it while either waiting for the mother or going inside to find her?

I thought about that but then, if someone would have seen me entering the car, taking a baby ... a guy, moreover a gaijin ... I might have looked suspicious. Sure, I would have then explained myself once arrived at the koban ... I stayed there and thought if it last more than 20 minutes, I would call the police.

Kurisutofu, if I had been in that situation as yours I would bring it to the attention of somebody.

I wanted to do that, but there was noone on the parking lot and many shops around so I wasn't sure the mother was really in the supermarket. And then, I thought that if I talked to a japanese person, they might say "it's not my car and/or child, I don't know". So I decided on waiting a little more before calling the police.

Now I know I could have done better but on the moment I was kind of blocked in my reasoning. I almost couldn't believe that could really happen. (ok, some might say it was not that bad, there was "air con" probably, and she might have been gone for 15~20 min. But still, I was shocked)

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lots of weird or sick parents in Japan ;)

As a percentage of the population, no. To believe otherwise would seem racist.

As for USA Ronin's response to one2one:

'"why am I crying..."

"It's the nature of your gender, m'am.

-Nothin' wrong with that."'

Ronin, Why do you assume that it is only you women who would cry about this?

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Thank gods that gambling is illegal in Japan or we would see a lot more of this type of thing.

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The pachinko parlors should not be blamed for the negligence of the parents. The parents should not be given a slap on the wrist for the death of their child. The world cannot teach a man and/or a woman how to be a parent no less to parent properly. The pachinko parlor posted a sign telling them that they should not leave their children in the car. The parent should have enough common sense to take their child to a daycare, a babysitter, or to a relative to look after them if they knew it was going to be that hot outside. I mean, it's summer! And to park in the sun?! How redundant is that?!! If they "forgot" to take them to whomever or where ever so the child can be properly tended to, they should have had enough common sense and consideration to take their child inside with them. I don't blame a parent for wanting some fun. Every parent wants to take a break from their child. However, her method was extremely stupid and I do believe she should be charged for the death of her child. It was involuntary, but it was still a crime.....

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Every summer I read about brainless parenting. Why do irresponsible people have babies!?

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rei307: you answered your own question. They are IRRESPONSIBLE!!!!

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I read about this all the time throughout the world... But this person, this had to be worse than simple forgetfulness. She didn't care.

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This is like smokers ignoring the warnings that it causes cancer. There have been enough incidents like this that she should have known of the danger of leaving an infant in a sealed car for 3 hours during peak daytime temperatures. 100 lashings of the cane is my recommendation.

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I think she should go to prision for life. This was not an accident, it was a premeditated murder because she rolled up the windows and despite the signs saying not leave a child unattended in a car. She felt her child was a mistake and a future burden on her, so she killed the child on purpose knowing it would die from over heating. She is a disgrace and a killer, maybe she should get the death penalty. People sure are using Pachinko parking lots as an pretext to murder their children. How many babies and kids are going to keep dying by this method in Japan? Stop having babies only to bring them here to die.

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On its surface, this isn't premeditated murder.

You have to prove intent to kill.

Unless she confessed a plan prior to this event, you got a long row to hoe before chargin' anyone with 'premeditated murder'.

Rumpole for the Bailey Ronin

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@USARonin:

It was premeditated murder. The intent to kill, was that she refused to obey the postings in the parking lot that clearly said, "Do not leave a child in the car alone". She showed further intent to kill by rolling up the car windows tight, knowing that the car would become very hot on a summer day. She knew the child could possibly die without having fresh air coming into the car, would die by over heating. At the age of 31 years old, she was not some 13 year old immature mother. What she did was no different then giving a child a loaded gun to play with, knowing the child could blow out there brains. I hope she rots jail forever!

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AK, that doesn't constitute 'premeditated murder' although I'll bet in my nation she'd probably be charged with 'grossly negligent homicide' or a homicide due to 'indifference to human life'... if she's charged at all.

I don't know the woman but I'll bet she's like many women I know who're hooked on Pachinko and hannafuda. Their mind goes somewhere else while they obsessively focus their attention on these kinds of gambling.

It's interestin' to see you're in to prisoner abuse and torture. I'm sure you're not one of those fellas that has a problem with Gitmo.

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This stupid woman in Akita has no business having children! If she is stupid enough to leave her child(11 month old defenseless baby) in a car by himself, she should be locked up for a very long time and well she should also be nurtured, you know just like we do to cats and dogs, make sure this horrible fool never ever has babies again. RIP little baby boy from Akita!

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"... at the entrance of the pachinko parlor was a poster warning parents not to leave their children in the car."

Seriously? You need to be told not to leave your kid in a car? Not only that... but she clearly walked by that sign and chose to ignore it... but I guess if you're going to leave your kid locked up then a warning sign isn't going to stop you.

Ugh. Sick.

I think she wanted him to die.

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Let's hipe that the lay judges hand down a harsh, uncompromising sentence. This is a "habit" that needs to go away, and FAST!!!!!

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Such a terrible tragedy. Clearly this woman is either mentally defective or criminally negligent. It is PURE COMMON SENSE that you do not leave a child alone. It is PURE COMMON SENSE that you do not leave your child alone in a parked car. It is PURE COMMON SENSE that you do not roll up the windows and park the car in the sun when there is someone or something inside (like a dog, cat, or 11-month-old baby). It is PURE COMMON SENSE that you do not leave a child alone in a parked car in the sun for THREE HOURS while you go play blasted pachinko! Even if by some miracle the child HADN'T died from the heat, what's to stop a passing lunatic from kidnapping the child? A baby, not even a year old? How much would THAT be worth on the baby-selling black market? This woman is clearly at fault for her child's death, and she should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for willful negligence resulting in death.

RIP, little boy.

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It does seem malicious. Fancy not even checking every now and again, and not not leaving the windows open. Too manipultive. However, the manipulation by the do-gooders would cause more problems. Such as the suggestion that bad parenting and gambling or cigarettes or drinking or even drugs, are in the same bag of problems. Some of the worst parents are your so called do-gooders. Bullying techniques disguised as morales which would cause more pressure and strain. Time and again I can lay truth to that.

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I think pachinko is stupid ... but blaming pachinko for the mother's horribly irresponsible behavior is ridiculous. What if it had been a supermarket parking lot? Does that mean we should speak out against grocery shopping?

It would be just as bad, but people do not think things like, "think I will just pop into the supermarket for ten minutes" and then spend 3 hours there, lost in some weird alternative universe. However, this is how gamblers behave.

In fact, people never spend 3 hours in the supermarket and will probably take the children with them when they do.

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Almighty Darwin, you are merciful to the living when you are cruel to the doomed.

This is a terrible thing, but tell me that this poor child would have had a good life being raised by that? Tell me that we are better off by having a replication of her genetic material in the gene pool for another generation.

Ugh. Has anybody seen this happen in a parking lot and ratted out the mother to shopkeepers? I have. I got the lady called up on a store PA and watched her run out the door with keys in her hand. Has anybody seen someone get a ticket in Las Vegas for leaving ANY ANIMAL in ANY PARKED CAR at ANY TIME OF THE DAY? It is on the books and they WILL cite you. I am not sure what the age is on kids, but basically, nobody stays in the car. It has become common sense.

I agree that prosecutors should go for murder here. How could she not know? How could she not know?

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The woman of this unfortunate child is doubly stupid and irresponsible for not only causing this rather unfortunate death but also for playing the mindless pachinko game.

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Honestly, I do not know how she would not know. Blame it on addiction or what have you, she should be punished for her irresponsibility regardless. That goes for anyone who does this, whether in front of a grocery store parking lot or pachinko. The issue is not where it happened (despite pachinko being a pretty skeezy place for this to occur, and it's tempting to simply blame it on that), but the fact that this woman had no sense of regard for own child, only concerned with doing what she wanted to do. It's sick.

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