crime

Chiba woman kills 13-year-old daughter

20 Comments

Police in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, have arrested a 43-year-old woman on suspicion of strangling her 13-year-old daughter.

According to police, the suspect, Mika Matsutani, a part-time worker, strangled her daughter Kasumi to death at their apartment on Wednesday morning. TBS reported that Matsutani told police she had intended to kill herself after killing her daughter but couldn't go through with it.

Matsutani had defaulted on her home payment approximately two years ago, and had been having difficulty making ends meet ever since, a police spokesman said. She and her daughter had been ordered to vacate the premises by Sept 24, TBS reported.

When representatives from the Chiba District Court arrived at the apartment at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning to see them out, they found Kasumi dead, lying face up a futon.

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20 Comments
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I think it's a little premature to make comments about the father considering nothing is written about him here.

Living poorly isn't something that's so shameful that one needs to try to commit murder-suicide over. Many Japanese until about fifty years ago were relatively dirt poor compared to now.

Hell, my mom and I hit poverty a few times during my childhood but they still ended up being some of the most memorable times in my life. I would've dreaded to have my mom or any other relative try to kill me because of a lack of money.

I think many people here need to re-evaluate their way of thinking. Life is precious with or without money.

14 ( +15 / -1 )

I think people underestimate the depression that can come with not having enough money to live on, this depression can lead to doing things your normally would not.

Failure is not an option in Japan so people that are financially or emotionally failing get ignored.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Can't pay my bills, guess I'll kill my kids. NOT!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Sad, there is nothing more to say about this. RIP Kasumi and wish you were born to a better person.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It's sad to imagine how people could be that hopeless that they come to think that death is actually better than this living. >___<

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I just keep thinking of that poor childs last moments, looking into the eyes of the one person she thought she could trust as she kills her.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Is this another failure of the japanese welfare system (or lack there of). It's also a result of the lack of child support laws in Japan. No doubt, the father just did a 'cut and run' or was just shunted out of the kid's life by the mother. Abe keeps spouting about equality in the society,meet he has no plans to address the current lack of laws for child support and joint custody, which are very discriminatory against the father. A sad tale indeed!

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Sorry for whoever "disagreed" with my statement - it was written from "first hand" experience...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

A lot of suicides in Japan are committed because people would rather die than ask for help... the shame and humiliation is too much. In Western culture we understand there are ups and downs in life... in Japan... down is a tough place to come back from.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Disillusioned

Is this another failure of the japanese welfare system

the article states:

Matsutani had defaulted on her home payment approximately two years ago

How long do you want the banks, courts and government to let people live rent -free before there are consequences to their actions (or non-actions in this case)?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

For Japanese people, being poor is so shameful. They cannot accept the fact that life is not always same as what they had some 20 years back. The Government also fails to support its jobless and hopeless people. To survive even with almost nothing is really a big challenge for Japanese people.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

So sad she thought death for both of them was better than being evicted. Death is final, poverty need not be.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Not that I don't understand your point, I also think the situation is quite different when you lose a place to live.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

It's very hard to comprehend another person's problems although we think we know all the answers such as I've been their done that thinking.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

the current lack of laws for child support and joint custody, which are very discriminatory against the father.

Not always...

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Japan actually has a strong welfare system. An aquaintance of min (and American nontheless) was on it for a long time. The difference is that in Japan, lots of people are either unaware of it, or reluctant to use it. It is very sad that the Kobe child murderer did, but this woman did not.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

They cannot accept the fact that life is not always same as what they had some 20 years back.

I think you have a point. An educated 43-year-old woman in Japan grew up in the tail end of the bubble era, and possibly assumed that life would always be that easy, and that the money would never run out. Believe me, I meet people like her all the time.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

there is a government house right? she know where to go and asking for help? poor girl RIP !

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Ayayay.......As much as I feel for this family's financial situation, murder is no the answer

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If a person feels there is absolutely no way out then these things will happen. She didn't want to leave her daughter to be a burden on others so decided to terminate her life. We can't understand it but others do.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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