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Police in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, have arrested a 52-year-old unemployed man after he failed to report the death of his 85-year-old mother and kept her body at home.
Police said Mamoru Handa told them his mother Toshiko died of natural causes in late November, Sankei Shimbun reported. Police quoted him as saying he was at a loss and didn’t know what to do or who to turn to for help, so he left the body in the living room.
Police said both Toshiko and her son had been receiving welfare benefits. When a city welfare official visited their house on Dec 17, he found the body.
Police said there were no external signs of injury on Toshiko’s body which was in an emaciated condition, they added.
Neighbors said Handa had been a hikikomori or social recluse for many years.
© Japan Today
19 Comments
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iradickle
Lamilly
Doesn't say anything about him collecting her pension
Luddite
The old “I didn’t know what to do” excuse.
since1981
simon gDec. 21 04:58 pm JST
It's direct credited, what would he need to know?
simon g; it's not about treating the child, it's about treating the parent. The best we can do is get new parents to understand the results of pampering their kids from the time of birth. There are so many examples I can write here about how I was raised. Anyone raised middle-class and below in the 80s and before knows what I'm talking about.
simon g
It's direct credited, what would he need to know?
since1981
Good for them. Fortunately they are well on the way to adulthood. How would you treat a child on the spectrum?
since1981
@simon g: Two fully grown kids. They have earned their own money from the age of 16. And gave their mom 50% of their salary to pay for their cellphones. They moved into their own apartments within a few months of graduating from University, married and I'll be a granddad soon. My kids didn't like me growing up. That's called good parenting and I stand proud of all that my kids did for themselves. And we have a great relationship now and as for my pregnant daughter, well she gets it and will also be a great parent.
simon g
I'm guessing you don't have kids.
Monozuki
The 52-year-old unemployed man had been a hikikomori for many years. Um. No wonder he ended up leaving his mom for dead. RIP
Random
@602, where did it say he had a son?
AdamP75
Time for the 52 year old toddler to get a job
602miko
Such a BS for this man his 52 old enough, and pretending he was loss and don't know what to do? Hope someday his son won't do the same things as he did to his mom.
Gaijinjland
I’ve met some Hikikimori. They are usually just so withdrawn from the outside world, they can’t even have a conversation with another person. It’s a mental condition. I feel sorry for this person. His mom dies of natural causes and it sounds like he is being honest that he really didn’t know what to do.
Ricky Kaminski13
Latest version of the same recurring story.
since1981
I call it laziness and a result of poor parenting.
Do the hustle
Being ‘hikikimori’ is not a state of being. It is a mental illness that is not being appropriately addressed.
Cricky
Well he didn't abandon the body. And she paid for social security, so in the system not really a crime. Just a misunderstanding that once he gets the public understanding it will be fine.
JCR
Sounds like he was trying to cash in mommy's welfare checks.