A lot of dads are out there doing their best to keep their kids on the straight and narrow throughout life. Things don’t always go according to plan, however.
One such case occurred late last year and led to the arrest of a father and son for the same crime. It all began when 29-year-old Tatsuya Tanaka was driving in Nerima, Tokyo, and collided with a 37-year-old man riding a motorcycle.
The victim suffered various injuries such as a broken toe and Tanaka fled the scene by getting into a car driven by his friend, 28-year-old Yuma Abe, who was driving behind him at the time of the accident. Tanaka may have fled because, according to the police, he was unlicensed at the time of the accident.
It would seem that shortly afterward, news of the accident reached Tanaka’s father, 50-year-old Toru Tanaka. Rather than allow his son to face punishment for his various offenses, Toru went to the accident scene about an hour after it happened and declared “I did it.”
This led to an investigation spanning several months, during which police determined that Toru did not in fact do it. On June 13, Tokyo Metropolitan police arrested Tatsuya Tanaka, Toru Tanaka, and Yuma Abe for their respective involvement in breaking the motorcyclist’s toe.
Online reactions to how Toru dealt with the situation have been mixed, but a majority of the comments lean toward the opinion that he handled this all wrong.
“A parent’s love for their child is moving. They all go to jail together.”
“I get how the dad feels, but that’s the wrong thing to do. Parents are supposed to correct the bad behavior of their kids.”
“That’s so sweet.”
“That kid’s old enough to take the fall himself.”
“Instead of trying to take the fall, he should have scolded his idiot son and turned him in to the police.”
“If that guy has no license, he certainly has no insurance.”
“I feel bad for the father.”
“I feel bad for the mother who has to put up with these guys.”
“Leave the kind dad alone!”
“It’s a parent’s right and responsibility to protect their son.”
“The son should have manned up and stopped his father.”
“Too many parents confuse indulgence with affection.”
“A real father would drag his son to the police.”
As a father myself, it’s hard not to sympathize with and even respect that feeling to want to sacrifice yourself for the well-being of your child. Given the timing of the events, it would also seem that Toru acted largely on impulse without considering what was truly best for his son in the long run.
Sources: TBS News Dig, NTV News, Hachima Kiko
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- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2023/06/19/father-arrested-for-taking-the-fall-for-sons-hit-and-run-in-tokyo/
17 Comments
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Jay
Punished for exercising parental piety. Confucius would be rolling in his tomb!
sakurasuki
Not only father and son, it was also his friends. Since this case no one died, he should come up clean, that collision is not 100% he's fault it can be other driver, insurance will take care of it. He still walk free with his father and his friends if he responsible for that incident.
shogun36
this for sure.
lock them all up. The kid sounds like a typical piece of trash anyway…….running away from the scene….
Michael Machida
The Father is not teaching his son how to be truthful and to take responsibility like a real man.
sir_bentley28
Father of the year, everyone! Father of the year! A perfect way to teach your kid to not take responsibility or accountability for your actions!
Mirai Hayashi
Totally agree
Mocheake
One fool aiding another fool who was abetted by a third fool. What's the title of that old song? Oh yeah, I remember now: "Fools Rush in."
Rodney
This is a heartwarming story. My father would never do this for me. Family love, and also friends are the backbone of society.
I regularly get broken toes in the dojo, not such a bad deal compared to more serious injuries. Although I suspect alcohol may be somewhere in the background.
father of the year award!
kurisupisu
Need to assess if the toe was really ‘a serious injury’
More info please
TokyoLiving
Spend time together in jail..
thaonephil
A good ending with everybody involved getting arrested, too many parents in Japan think that letting their offspring avoid taking responsibility is good parenting when it is just the opposite.
masterblaster
I wonder if the father did this because in a way he is at fault. Perhaps the son was driving the father's car. And the father knew he didn't have a license.
MilesTeg
Driving without a license and leaving the scene of an accident. Sounds like an entitled, spoiled brat whose parents never held him accountable for anything and continue to do so. Terrible, weak parents produce terrible, weak kids. Like father, like son.
Kazuaki Shimazaki
He's in a car and the other guy's on a bike. Already at this point, Japan's negligence laws will bias to put most of the blame on him. There will be few, perhaps no, scenarios where he can get to under 50% liability. That's before you count his quite plausible driving without licence.
@MilesTegToday 03:28 pm JST
Actually, I'm more sympathetic. The reality is that young men (it's disproportionately male) do stupid things. Holding them accountable is one thing, but if we accept the premise this is a mistake rather than malice you need to let the young bounce back, and this fella made a mistake bad enough the system won't really let him. So a choice has to be made as to whether to do it by the book and essentially end his future, or try to cover it up.
MilesTeg
While I understand that youth, especially male youth do crazy, stupid things, this guy is 29yrs old.
If he had stayed at the accident site, his punishment would've been minor, likely a fine for driving without a license and insurance trouble. How would that have ended his career?
By leaving the site, it became more serious, now involves his father, and could affect his career. His father and also his friend enabled him which I think has been going on for a while hence the immature, lack of judgement.
opheliajadefeldt
Wow!...what a despicable father, showing his son how to take no responsibilities for his actions. It sounds like the spoilt brat has previously driven the car before, unlicensed but with his fathers knowledge, but neither of them cared. Lets hope they get to share a cell together.........Oh, and have their lovely car sold in a police auction..cheaply.