crime

Man arrested for shaking 6-month-old daughter to death

43 Comments

Police have arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of killing his 6-month-old daughter at their home in Sabae, Fukui Prefecture.

Fuji TV reported Monday that the man, who has been named as Yuji Yagi, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of violently shaking his baby daughter's head at their apartment in June of last year. The girl was taken to hospital unconscious and eventually passed away in December.

The assault was uncovered when doctors could not find any obvious physical injuries and reported the child's death as suspicious. Police questioned Yagi, who admitted to abusing his daughter, Fuji reported.

Yagi was arrested on a charge on manslaughter. Police said they are planning to investigate whether the girl was routinely being abused.

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43 Comments
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Let me guess. She wouldn't stop crying.

14 ( +17 / -3 )

Nothing gets me more angry than a child dying from shaken baby syndrone. This is not a man, and certainly not a father. You want to read about a real father then read about the man who died protecting his daughter in the blizzard.

10 ( +13 / -3 )

Can I shake this guy for a while?

9 ( +10 / -1 )

What an idiot for a father.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

And let me guess that was not the first time he did it.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

We don't have all the answers to our questions but the worst part may be if no one seeks the answers and simply lock this man away.

Yes we do have the answer in this case. He was a man not prepared to be a father.

And believe it or not that is a world-wide problem that typically means OJT (on the job training). Babies typically don't come with handbooks or instructions other than TLC. (Tender LOVING Care).

He derserves to be locked away and not allowed to breed ever again.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Wow. Over on the other thread you have a father dying to save his daughters life. And here you have this. Dont know about you guys but my lesson for the day is "dont make generalisations about an entire country" like I did in a fit of pique in the post office yesterday!

I get the whole "men need support" thing too but seriously - are there people so thick out there they need to be taught not to shake a baby by the head??! This twit was going to do this whether he had the training or not. This isnt about lack of experience. This is about a selfish personality who couldnt handle a baby doing what babies do.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Maternal instinct doesn't just sit with the women. Men have shown historically they will do anything to protect or avenge wrong doings to their children. Training ??? Did he have to be trained to not beat his wife as well ??? Bottom line is was his selfishness for his own quiet time and lack of self control or compassion for this child is the reason he was arrested and this new life was snuffed out so early.

Question I ask is how could he do this ??? Heartbreaking to picture someone doing this. The poor mother entrusted him as any mother would...was devastation she must feel.

RIP

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Let me guess. She wouldn't stop crying.

Or "I was drunk and don't recall abusing her" take your pick of cliche excuses

4 ( +4 / -0 )

FPSRussia: This is society's fault. I want to know more. Maternity leave for women, training classes for women. Where is the training for men?

So, first you say this is society's fault and then you say you want to know more. And, you then you somehow blame posters who don't respond positively to your post for being responsible for this. I'm confused about all of the assumptions and accusations you've made and wonder what exactly you're doing to make sure that this kind of thing doesn't happen again. I remember a number of PSAs in the States aimed at educating people on Shaken Baby Syndrome. Are you advocating for that to NGOs or media outlets or are you just getting online and blaming everyone else for what this man did?

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Read this right after reading about the father who died saving his 9 year-old daughter in a blizzard... It's not fair is it? The ones who should die never do, and the ones who make the world a better place get taken too soon...

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Fuji TV reported Monday that the man, who has been named as Yuji Yagi, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of violently shaking his baby daughter’s head at their apartment in June of last year. The girl was taken to hospital unconscious and eventually passed away in December.

Whoa whoa whoa. The incident happened last year... it's March now, why such a long wait to start investigating?! Hope he doesn't have any other kids.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

You are right ! No where does it say he beat his wife . That's my point. Did he get training for that ?? Did he grow up in a greenhouse or something ?? The nurturing from his own mother wasn't enough training ?? I am sure that his wife, hospital staff and family warned him about the danger of not properly supporting that child's head . Self control and a huge lack of it was the reason for this child's demise. All the examples from society we view on a daily basis would have been enough training for this A ........ Hope he does a lengthy stretch of time.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

What a piece of human garbage! RIP poor girl. I hope the mother will find a way to trust another man again!!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Read this after reading about the father who died protecting his daughter in the cold... its just disgusting how this guy can do that to his baby.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

@FPSRussia

Well, let`s see... Did you take the fish out of their tanks and squeeze them a bit? That would be the equivalent of what this man did to his child.

You dont take goldfish out of the water and squeeze them, everyone over the age of 5 knows that. You dont shake a baby by it`s head...Most everyone knows that.

I understand things like "dont change the kitty litter when youre pregnant" or "dont eat sushi when youre pregnant" as being things that some people just don`t know about...but shaking babies. Come on.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I can see where FBSRussia is coming from in his comments, but I still think in this case there is no question the father was unfit to be just that, and a child died as the result. He probably did not intend to kill his daughter, but it's clear he was abusive.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

However WE are not exactly innocent

Sorry, but in this case, I am innocent so leave "me" out of your "we". You're very quick to cast Japanese women in a bad light whether it be related to child custody or the supposed high number of women who fake sexual assaults as a type of scam and yet you're basically coming to this guy's defense and implicating society in his actions. That doesn't wash with me, regardless of whatever I-just-mean-to-get-you-thinking mode you put it in.

Did anyone stop this guy from taking a parenting / child care class or picking up a book on child care? Just because the majority of parenting classes are aimed at women, which makes sense since the majority of parenting in Japan is done by women, that doesn't mean he had to stay ignorant. The fall is on him and him alone. He was 26 not 19.

A certain amount of common sense is helpful when raising a child and though this guy may not have been aware of Shaken Child Syndrome, what amount of common sense do you have to be lacking in to not understand that shaking a six-month old child is not a good idea? What amount of excessive pride do you have to have to not seek knowledge that you need - if we're to accept your theory that simple ignorance led him to abuse his child in such a manner? And if we're going to go around and quote the bible, how about "pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall" or "god helps those who help themselves".

As has been said already, he probably didn't intentionally kill his daughter and I really do feel sorry for him for the pain that awaits him but he was clearly abusive and had alternatives.

Try to look at it as food for thought. Them you can forget about it and have a nice frappaccino".

Thanks but I prefer espresso.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I have to agree that ignorance of knowledge shouldn't be used here. He wasn't a child raising a child. Like was said above common sense would dictate you don't shake a 6 month old baby. If you don't know how to stop or deal with a crying baby then seek help, pride or lack of time are no excuse. There are all kinda of self help books he could have picked up rather than a newspaper or manga magazine. 26years of age ? Plenty of reasoning there to be taken advantage of. The excuses of him or other men in this society being stricken with no time or not properly taught basic social family skills is thrown around way too much. How is it the majority of fathers out there that grew up here without "training" managed to raise their children without harming them ? Unless he was hatched and grew up in a bubble I'm not buying any of that poor him for not being educated enough crap to take care of his child

2 ( +2 / -0 )

in no way defending the guy, his actions are detestable

i can attest to the fact that in some individuals you do NEED training to be a parent, not everyone develops maternal instinct right away, nor love the child right away

it is not an auto on off switch

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It is true, although there is no mention of this man being a "wife beater", those who are, are also very capable of violence towards their babies.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

No where in this article does it say he beat his wife. You are adding fiction to support your condemnation of this man.

No, YOU are missing the point he was making. The guy (apparently) doesn't abuse the mother and he didn't "need training" to know that wasn't the thing to do, so why does he "need training" to know shaking a baby like a rag doll is ALSO not the thing to do?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Thank goodness for TIMELY news!

Sarcasm aside here, I would hope you know that doctors can't perform autopsies on living people and with no obvious signs of injury and with the length of the hospital stay it may just have been a long time in getting the results and THEN the police getting involved looking for a cause of death.

Here in Japan if a person dies for no obvious reason the police investigate the cause of death. (I know it happened to a couple of my wife's elderly aunts who died in their sleep while living on their own)

Plus the police only had the father's admitting to abuse of his child, but even with a confession the cops will typically investigate to try to find evidence to support the confession. (That is unless the police coerced the confession)

1 ( +1 / -0 )

FPSRussia, you seem lean more on the side that this man suffers/regrets his decision, but I think I'm on the other side (no criticisms, but just an observation). Maybe it was accident, maybe it wasn't. There are many people in this world who would take a life and feel nothing. In the end this is just another window into the darker side of humanity.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Die you SOB! Die in hell

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Low family values taught by parents, , and when this children become adults, it is passed on to their children and it goes on and on...and it's not getting any better because the country refuses to face the problem, refuses to diagnose mental issues, refuses to educate the uneducated, refuses to step up and make changes for better citizens and family lifestyle, refuses to talk about this topic in school on compassion and love, etc.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

However we are wrong if we think the death of this baby was only one person's doing and that we, members of this society, are in no way culpable for what has happened. We don't have all the answers to our questions but the worst part may be if no one seeks the answers and simply lock this man away. Judges and lawyers are building their careers but not learning from it.

Quite right. I suspect, though, that everyone knows the answers to the questions that this horrible, tragic case raises but nobody really wants to face up to them.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Usually this type of story involves the phrases "she wouldn't stop crying" and "the unemployed father".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

shouldn't the title and article refer to him as "father?" and the last paragraph should be read "charge OF manslaughter."

That aside, i can't imagine doing this to your own child. as a father of a 6-month-old daughter, i could never harm her.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

There is not enough information here to tell anything about the story, or this man.

Perhaps he was a horrible guy, a wife beater, unemployed alcoholic loser who just couldnt control his temper.

Perhaps he was a single father with no help, no support, working full time and struggling alone and just cracked one day.

We just dont know. I would like to know much more about this story, but until then I think its impossible to judge.

I am far more interested in the complete lack of information about the mother - like no mention at ALL. Isnt that a bit weird?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Give him Life in prison or the Death Penalty. If you think that is too harsh then to bad, I'm not sorry for saying that. If an individual causes bodily harm to a human being that is incapable of defending themselfs (especially infant) then the punishment must be severe.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Disturbing and sad. The father was either murderous in his mind as he shook the child or he did it out of loosing his temper. Both of which have no excuse. Rest in peace child. As to you father...good luck with forgiving yourself.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sadly, I tend to agree with FPSRussia. Unfortunately, maternal instinct is something that needs to be taught to many people, both men and women. It's truly sad that so many young parents have no idea how to nurture a child or how to control their emotions and it is always the kid that gets abused for their parents' emotional inadequacies. Education would be a great thing for parents, but there is only self-education and too many so-called 'parents' never bother. You have to study and pass a test to get a driver's licence, but anybody can have a baby without any kind of formal education or training. It doesn't seem right to me.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Disillusioned, apparently that's what I've been trying to write here all time..."education would be a great thing for parents" to add, to be able to raise educated children with higher lever of family values and morals for the reason of passing good morals and conduct with love and compassion to their children and their children's children.But apparently JT doesn't take constructive criticism in good mind and tends to delete what they don't want to hear and read for that matter. I take time writing comments for a good cause, for something all of us can benefit and learn from. It should not be taken personally. But I guess I'm dealing with people here who lack experience with life. Proves to show why the saga continues.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

FPSRussia - Thank you very much for your comments. By reading most of the other posts it is clear to me, how right you are. Is is sad to read what kind of gaijins and open "Japanese People" are now have to say.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

He was just another immature incompetent jerk who lost his temper, hardly any cold-blooded killer. What did he know from babies ? He'll do time, worry not. Maybe he'll mature in the process.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

at their apartment in June of last year. The girl was taken to hospital unconscious and eventually passed away in December

Thank goodness for TIMELY news!

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

@ambrosia. I can feel the fire in your words. However I'm not in pugnacious mood. On the contrary I've made a clear effort to be as polite as possible. I'm sure the moderators are having a nice day too. Enjoy your coffee.

Simple, it's just an opinion and a different angle on this problem. There are different levels of culpability. This man directly will receive the lions share of the pain and punitive actions. I don't like this man nor do I excuse his actions.

However I'm just not going to throw stones at him while he's paraded through the media for ad value.

I never told anyone they can't vent their utter disgust and contempt for this man. Go ahead, growl, sneer, cuss, and use derogative terms till your heart is content. The irony is that this man is the byproduct of our apathy, our lack of concern for our social welfare system.

You and I both know this isn't the first story like this and I'm sure it won't be the last.

What am I doing about this situation? Not enough. I've got you reading though. I've got you thinking. One by one. I'd love to vote but they won't let me.

Ambrosia, it's not blaming everyone for what this has done. Blaming isn't exactly the right word to use. However WE are not exactly innocent. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. That's the knee jerk reaction and its very emotional but my argument is to hopefully bring a moment of pause. Perhaps it's better to ask about inaction rather than the action you've read about here.

My tone is not hostile and I plan on keeping it that way. So don't think I've made you or anyone else a villain here.

Try to look at it as food for thought. Them you can forget about it and have a nice frappaccino".

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I haven't said anything about women in my posts today because its not related to this article.

Except for your complaints about how there is maternity leave and training classes for women but not for men, which by the way is wrong on both counts. There are training classes for fathers as well as legally of up to one year allowed leave for either the mother or father. All of the fathers I've ever spoken to are reluctant to take it because they believe their careers will stall if they do. That is a choice. Have the career you want or think you need or spend time with the family you have.

I can't even take care of a goldfish. They always die within 2 weeks.....It's not an accurate comparison but its fair to say that I didn't understand how to keep them alive.

No, it's not an accurate comparison given that the average lifespan of a captive goldfish is 5 to 10 years and you are unlikely to be sent to jail for not being able to keep your goldfish alive. Seeing as how they are living creatures though, I'd strongly recommend you either educate yourself on how to properly raise them or stop buying them.

Should we punish, lock away everybody who didn't get the memo?

1) Another bad analogy? What memo? Who gets a memo? Assuming the guy is not illiterate he could have gotten his own "memo" in the name of books or training classes which he was perfectly free to enroll in. Again, choices.

2) We should certainly mete out appropriate punishment to those who kill their children through violence.

I believe that his boss did not offer paternal leave to get said education. I believe that the support is not there for men and women

Regardless of whether either or your beliefs are true or not, that's not an excuse for using violence against a baby. Common sense, selflessness and making the right choices are the main necessities when raising a child.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

@CrazedinJapan. No where in this article does it say he beat his wife. You are adding fiction to support your condemnation of this man. The fact is, we have no idea who he was or the pressure he was under. Furthermore, none of us will ever know the pain after this incident. His soul maimed and fractured by the reality of what he has done. When it all sinks in he may find himself beyond repair. I wouldn't be surprised if he's on suicidal watch while incarcerated.

We simply don't know. We can speculate all day long till we get to 200 posts. Why speculate to only one negative theory?

I cannot simply accept the idea that a green hairy monster is sitting in jail somewhere. Being realistic and fair about the human condition I'm more willing to believe that are factors leading up to this that no one is willing to consider, cause and effect. The situation is more complicated than the knee jerk reactions I see here.

We all assume that we will never find ourselves in such a pitfall. No, not me, I'll never end up like this guy. When you start to admit that we as people are more fragile, regardless of gender, than we think then maybe some programs will be developed to get men educated on child care. As humans we are supposed to be above the term "ani"-"mal" but the truth is we are more likely to hurt our offspring than most of us are willing to admit.

When you divorce, you abuse your children. When you don't allow access to both parents you hurt your children. Don't assume for one second that this society's lack of support doesn't hurt children.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

@ambrosia. Well, thank you for your thoughts in the matter. You brought a lot of baggage with you from past articles figuring you've got me pegged. However I'm focused on this story and nothing else. I haven't said anything about women in my posts today because its not related to this article.

I pray Japan takes the jury system more seriously in the future. If you were ever in a mess like this I pray that there would be someone who can be objective.

I want to hold him responsible for his actions but I also want to know the truth.

Ambrosia I can t even take care of Goldfish. They always die within 2 weeks. Did they die cause I tapped the fish tank. Did they die cause I did that? I changed the water, fed them every morning but they still died. I used to tap the tank just to see them flash through the water. Did I inadvertently kill them? I really didn't know. Wait, there's no physical evidence that I abused them.

It's not an accurate comparison but its fair to say that I didn't understand how to keep them alive. Should we punish, lock away everybody who didn't get the memo?

I believe there is definitely a possibility that Japan's education system did not teach boys / men how to take care of babies.

I believe that his boss did not offer paternal leave to get said education. I believe that the support is not there for men and women. The city social worker visits once a month and only for one hour at a time. 99% of the time the men are not there because they are working for the company.

Defend him? Nah I can't No one can defend him if the court is not willing to look at its own decisions and the government that put social welfare at the bottom of the totem pole.

"It's regrettable" that you are not open to even the slightest possibility of cause and effect and society's role in this. It's not like any of us are going to be prosecuted for this. However we could ask for more from the government. Helping this guy might be a step towards helping ourselves and future babies coming into this world.

Could we agree that we should work towards that? Could we agree that courses and paternity leave be mandatory to help fathers cope with the new conditions? If we could do that then our differences in opinion wouldn't matter. You could be the PC and I'll be the Mac but we could make this society work to end these kinds of stories.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

This is society's fault. I want to know more. Maternity leave for women, training classes for women. Where is the training for men?

Having a baby is a huge life altering event. There are ways to deal with it. There is an urban myth that mothers are instinctively maternal and suddenly make this miraculous change mentally. I don't believe this. I believed they are trained before hand.

Don't get me wrong I don't condone what has happened here. I'm the type of person to take a few steps back and look at it from a landscape view.

My problem with people who don't respond positively to my post is that society feels no accountability for this. You immediately claim no responsibility for the way this society is designed. Instead of working to make life better and prevent this from happening again there are those who choose to build their careers off of it.

Did this man receive any training? Did this man have access to support? Every expecting family receives a baby register packet with coupons and information. Here you go and good luck is not enough.

My point is men are treated unfairly in this society. If women can be equal in the business world then men can be equal when it comes to nurturing children. IF....IF we all have equal training and the right to take maternal and paternal leave.

To condemn is so easy. We have no idea WHO this man really was. He may have done many wonderful things in his life but this will be his undoing. Did a good man not receive the proper training to deal with a new life?

Don't hate me for speaking on his behalf. Instead ask yourself these questions.

-7 ( +4 / -11 )

@crazedinjapan

You assume too much. You assume that he was there. You assume that his boss gave him days off to learn about child are. You faith that everything went according to plan has mislead you.

Please, kindly understand, I have no negative criticism towards you. In fact, I'm thankful for the dialogue. There is only our learned beliefs based on our time here in this society. What we both have seen and experienced.

This is a working mans land. Where men don't even make their own lunch. They are not trained for childcare. There are no one week egg-baby experiments. Childcare is 10 times more stressful than a day at the office. Company is king.

I'm more willing to believe that due to budget cuts and company politics that this man did not receive proper training. Not just how-to training but support a human being emotionally and mentally.

So lets find common ground. Yes' he will do a lengthy amount of time. He may very well be the selfish man most are assuming he is.

However we are wrong if we think the death of this baby was only one person's doing and that we, members of this society, are in no way culpable for what has happened.

We don't have all the answers to our questions but the worst part may be if no one seeks the answers and simply lock this man away. Judges and lawyers are building their careers but not learning from it.

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

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