Police in Mooka City, Tochigi Prefecture, have arrested an unemployed 46-year-old man on suspicion of abandoning a body after the decaying remains of his 68-year-old mother were found at their apartment.
According to police, Toshiyuki Hashimoto has admitted to the charge and said his mother died of an illness about three weeks ago, Fuji TV reported. Police said there were no external signs of injury on the body and an autopsy will be held to determine the cause of death.
Hashimoto was quoted by police as saying, “Since I didn’t have money to hold a funeral, I just left [my mother’s] body as is.”
Police said the woman's body was discovered by her oldest daughter who came to the apartment for a visit on July 18. The landlord had called her, saying something strange was going on in the apartment after seeing swarms of flies going in and out of an open window.
© Japan Today
10 Comments
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Yubaru
Sadly these stories are not unique here. There SHOULD be a way for people to put their loved one's to rest without having to go into debt to do so!
Pukey2
If someone can't afford funeral expenses because they have no money then they can't be forced to pay. But just leaving your own mother's body to decay with flies swarming is gross and shows lack of filial piety.
Daniel Naumoff
As someone has already noted, this kind of news is not really news anymore. It's a daily (or weekly) reality. The more and more gruesome ways of such crimes should be reported, not every generic instance of them.
BlackFlagCitizen
So this guy couldn't even call his sister to tell her their mother passed away....
Stephen Knight
Sounds to me like the very opposite of "abandoning a body."
Strangerland
The nuance is lost in translation into English. It's more like abandonment of responsibility towards a body. Don't get too hung up on the English, it's a Japanese law.
Kobe White Bar Owner
How about a simple one price well advertised simple cremation nationwide. This would save a lot of time for everyone. Also im sure not everyone just wants to pick up mar or par pension, just the lack of logic and independence leaves some folks totally lost.
sensei258
Unemployed at his age and living with mom. Any bets he was planning to keep receiving her pension for as long as possible, and his plan was ruined by his sister's visit.
Luddite
This seems to be common story in Japan.
Kapuna
A decomposing body and no one noticed?