crime

Mother, daughters die in suspected murder-suicide leap in Kanazawa

34 Comments

A woman and her two young daughters died on Sunday after leaping from a 10-meter-high overpass in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture. Police found a suicide note in their car parked nearby and suspect the mother jumped with both her daughters.

The woman, 36, and her two daughters, 7 and 1, were found dead in bushes about 10 meters below the overpass around noon after another driver notified police about the unoccupied car on the overpass.

According to police, a suicide note was left inside their car. The woman's husband told police she has been suffering from an illness. Police said the woman left home with the two daughters around 6 p.m. on Saturday and didn't return. The husband reported them missing to police on Sunday morning.

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34 Comments
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Only in Japan? Heck!! THese crimes should be branded as shamefull by the media. How can people kill their own kids, terrible news.

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sick __

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This is so sad. The little children didn´t deserve that.

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Why don't these suicidal people jump firms!! Leave the kids to live in a world without such losers. The government should start a shame advertising policy, showing these people as murderers and despicables

Jav

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It is so easy to condemm but please pause and have some compassion for the dead. I am sure that nobody in this world like to kill themselves.

The poor lady mentioned that she had an illness and we should all sympathise with that. By taking her children lives, she does not want to burden her husband with the task of bringing up the children alone. I am sure that it was a very tough decision.

If only she had someone to turn to, someone to talk matters over with, I am sure that things would had been different.

May your soul rest in peace.

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amazing, huh? may she and her children rest in peace. :(

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I am sorry rickyliow, but there is no justifiable reason to take the two kids with her. As for burdening the father in raising the kids by himself is not a logic excuse. I am sure there are extended family, such as Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents. I am very sad about the loss of two young innocent lives

The kids had no choice where as the woman made a very conscience decision

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She didnt have the right to make a decision for her Husband nor for the two innocent children.. You want to die go ahead its your choice. But dont tell me that she had the right to take other peoples lives...

I hope the childrens father can handle this horrid situation....

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extended family you say? this is Japan mate where people look after themselves. They will not go to their relatives and ask for help, it is meiwaku. Leave the children to live by themselves? what kind of life? The father has to work, who will watch after the kids? The government has no support system for the abandoned kids, orphaned kids and so on. Maybe the father is just doing a baito, its no longer unusual here in Japan to earn less than 150,000Y per month, then lessen the taxes, plus the house rent and you will see how bleak is the future. So the mother thinking all of these commits suicide, and bring the kids as not to suffer. Stupid idea? its their culture mate, its their belief. Shame campaign? Won't work. Because leaving the family burdened and kids without parents is more shameful for them.

I just pray that the family will find peace and eternal rest.

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Mikihouse, it still does not justifies killing her own kids, long time ago when people had no TV, Car, Mobile phones and such, they were poor, sickly and hungry and still sucseeded in raising 11 children.

May they R.I.P the kids that is

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mikihouse is unfortunately RIGHT on the MONEY in this, I have said this before a million times Japanese & their society is brutally cold.

My wife is surviving cancer now, she has made a tons of friends via the net & often meet people from all over Jpn getting together, the stories I hear make my stomach knot up bad, many of course are simply sad stories but it is unbelieveable(actually now I find it too much the norm) how many immediate family members cant/wont even help their own.

The story this week is a woman in her 30s, she will die soon, she wants to spend her last days at home, she has trouble eating, keeping it down among things. Her frigging husband told her to stay in the hospital because neither he or her kids(i was thinking young, say under 8) cudnt help her at home, her kids are mid teens..............

this is one seriously sick society, I know its not all Japanese but way too many are utterly useless human beings & I am being very generous here.

Again much too often what mikihouse says is true, Jpn has still got a ways to go to hit rock bottom

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Yep, no compassion here! This sick batch took the lives of two innocents for no better reason than self-pity or some trucked-up belief it would be better for the kids. I hope the kids can visit this batch in hell and throw rocks at her! - Japan! A great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to grow up here!

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I also think Mikihouse is on the money. There is no proper social system in place for abandoned children in Japan. In Japan, children are your responsibility. No one elses. It is considered shameful to have givin birth to them and then not be able to care for them properly. Also, remember the women was Japanese. Suicide is an acceptable alternative culturally. Trolling for arguements about a culture is simply wrong. Murder/suicides are not exclusive to Japan. Would anyone on this post have taken these children in??? If they were right in front of you, maybe...but it's easy to assume someone else will pick up the ball and run with it, as armchair observers. It is tragic by any account.

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By taking her children lives, she does not want to burden her husband with the task of bringing up the children alone. I am sure that it was a very tough decision.

sorry, but no way I can agree to that.. taking you children to an early grave is just sick..

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Sick indeed. At the very least she had serious mental health issues. The article mentions that she had a one year. I wouldn't be surprised if postpartum depression factored into this mess. Very sad situation.

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Why the children?? 1 years old

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"I wouldn't be surprised if postpartum depression factored into this mess."

I think you mean that the woman was probably on ant-depressants, which are prescribed frivolously although they have a long association with suicide and infanticide.

Patients on these medications typically do not (can not) exercise, sleep or eat properly, and therefore a condition of biological fatigue which is as old as mankind, (and for which practical remedies previously existed) has turned into an epidemic of chemical dependency and self destruction.

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Well, it's not all that surprising to hear about suicides in Japan all the time. The highest suicide rates in the world are mainly all in Eurasia. Also, certain island countries have high suicide rates. It just depends on environment, mental health, weatlh, culture, and the presence of justice. It has been said that satan has a "rectangle of influence" that is the strongest in the world over most of Eurasia, don't know whether that is true or not but it would certainly explain a lot if it were true. That's only if you believe there is a God/Devil.

Sorry to hear about those three deaths, may they rest in peace. <3

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Whose to blame here? The woman was sick, yet left alone with the children anyway? The husband didn't pack her off ot a hospital at the very least?

This is terrible....

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Blue Tiger

Too much social stigma towards mental illness. People have to suffer in silence. Suicide and taking family with you, is not frowned upon in the same manner as in the west.

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i hate to hear news like this every day here

when this irresponsible action stop in japan

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Oh please. How many fathers or grandparents in Japan, or aunts, uncles etc. would actually prefer that a mother took her children with her when she committed suicide? Japanese people are human, and like humans anywhere else in the world would rather not lose almost their entire family in one go. Mothers die here in accidents or of natural causes all the time as well, and somehow the children get looked after. Mikihouse is not "on the money" with this one, Japanese society is not that "brutally cold"- I can't believe anyone here who has Japanese friends can actually say anything like that. Japanese people are just as capable of compassion as any other society, regardless of how you want to stereotype them.

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I feel for the father, his whole family and everything he works for is gone.

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Is there any social stigma for the husband? Is anybody gonna gossip about him as if he was a bad husband and father or anything like that?

or will it be more like "gee thats too bad, but at least now you get to keep your whole paycheck.."

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I feel for everyone involved, including the mother. I do have to wonder why the husband didn't take action. His wife was ill, perhaps he could have done a bit more to help her out? Take her out on a romantic vacation, etc...do something, help her get treatment.

I can only imagine what the woman was feeling. She might have been terribly lonely, missed her family, etc. Such a tragedy.

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I recently talked about this with some Japanese friends and they said it's true, that Japanese see more value in death than in living. And if you're ill...forget it! Does anyone remember the story on JT about six years ago, where a man lay dying of a heart attack, and his stone cold wife just stood there looking at him before deciding to take the dog for a walk! He survived after calling an ambulance for himself and divorced that sad b**ch! Last week, I was seriously ill and only for the 2nd time in my nine year stay in Japan. But again, my Japanese wife was very cold towards me, even though I still went to work during my illness.

This country needs a damn good kick up the rear when it comes to community, social care and being there for others. I don't claim to know what this woman went through, but my guess is that her 7 year old especially, must have been petrified! The woman would have my sympathy if she hadn't been such a selfish person and taken two innocent lives with her. My prayers go out to her husband who now has to live with this for the rest of his life...something else his wife never gave thought to.

Also, isn't it amazing how people give a lot of thought and effort to killing themselves instead of picking up the phone and calling someone for support?

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delitachan

I do have to wonder why the husband didn't take action. His wife was ill, perhaps he could have done a bit more to help her out? Take her out on a romantic vacation, etc...do something, help her get treatment.

In all likelihood, he probably didn't even know. Japanese women are very resilient about expressing their true feelings and she probably hid this from him. As for 'romance' - once you're married with kids, forget it, they ain't interested in romance. And how could she have been 'lonely, missed her family'??? You make no sense with that statement!

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Youdontknow:

Apparently you failed to read the section in the article that states the husband KNEW she was ill. If you can't find it, here it is: "The woman’s husband told police she has been suffering from an illness" Perhaps they meant illness like a cold or something, but if that was the case, I'm not sure the relevance of that fact into the newspaper article. But I'll give Japan Today the benefit of the doubt.

She was lonely means just what it is - her husband was at work all the time and she could have been lonely without another adult to talk to. Sure kids give you a sense of living, but it's not the same as talking with another adult. She could have also missed her immediate family (her mother, father, grandmother) who may be living in another prefecture. Sounds silly but small things like these add to whatever depression she was already feeling.

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apsara

sorry but yr basically incorrect, sure there are lots of nice people in Jpn same as everywhere, but many are indeed brutally cold to each others situations, very few charitable organizations here, a few soup kitchens mainly run for non-japanese religious organizations.

Even my wife with all she has been through detests her brother who lives in another city, married with a couple kids, only reason I have seen her niece is because we met when my father in-law passed away, I have tried to nudge her into us going to visit them or invite them but no way, immediate family but its dead end.

Jpn as a society is cold for the most part, its a simple fact of being Japanese, like bullying its simply part of the culture

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GW; Experienced the coldness my self from some Japanese, not all i might hate. Sincerly hope your wife regains her health for all your families sake.

Dont know why some Japanese are like that. My wife and i experienced it from some family members and neighbours, who even said to her you should marry Japanese. Wouldnt have anything to do with us after marriage. Charity doesn`thardly seem to exist, where is victim support, help for suicidal people.Japan has a long w ay to go. Glad i left when i did.

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"By taking her children lives, she does not want to burden her husband with the task of bringing up the children alone. I am sure that it was a very tough decision. "

Open mouth and insert spoon until gagging sound can be heard>

It's a selfish, coward's way out. I don't think it was a very tough decision at all for her. It was probabaly much more difficult for her to come to terms with killing herself. The kids were just an easy grab as she was going over the edge.

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If suicide were simple there would be 100,000 times more of it.

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Japan Husker

"It's a selfish, coward's way out..."

Remember that is your opinion based on your social upbringing. Things aren't always so simple and her upbringing was obviously different from yours. Once again, it's hard to judge without knowing the woman personally. Who knows? Maybe the father just claimed his wife had problems to cover up his own incestuous problems and she wanted to protect them from him. Or perhaps he'd been having an affair and she found out. Just speculation of course but that's the point... we can all speculate when we don't know the details. Mothers can feel an extremely close bond with their kids and taking kids to jump off an overpass together may have seemed like the best thing to do at the time. Honestly. Problem with that is it's irreversible. People do have moments where they snap so, as tempting as it is to criticize, we shouldn't.

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