Newborn infant abandoned in Mie supermarket parking lot

At least she left him where he would be found quickly, instead of doing something much worse

she left him where he would be found quickly

In a supermarket car park naked at midnight? Do not give this mother any kind of sympathy or understanding. She just dumped this baby like trash at the first place she could where there was nobody watching. She didn't even wrap the baby in a blanket.

Do not give this mother any kind of sympathy or understanding

Not at all, it's still a selfish thoughtless crime. I'm just glad the baby will be okay.

It was lucky for the newborn baby being abandoned in early autumn when the days are still warm with lingering summer heat. But I'm concerned that when the baby grows up and learns the truth, how much he will suffer and worry... Hopefully, he will turn out well n one way or another.

I understand the logic behind wanting the legally charge the mother but immediate concern should be directed towards putting the bany up for adoption as soon as possible. There are many people out there who would be happy to provide a loving home. Sadly, the system in Japan is more concerned about following proper and lengthy procedures rather than focusing on the individual's human needs. This kid can still be saved, do something about that and fast!

Not at all, it's still a selfish thoughtless crime.

There is a greater "crime" here that will never be charged nor anything done to change. Knowing NOTHING about the person or person's who put the baby there it's very difficult to judge.

The greater "crime" is the society that has been created that forces whomever did this to see this as an option. It should never have happened in the first place, and the mother of this baby needs to be found to ensure they are fine as well.

Yea, let's find the "mother" so we can put him in an orphanage and never let him be adopted because she or her delinquent yankii family refuse to give up her maternal rights.

This woman is a disgusting human being.

We need support systems for all parents, not just those that are low income. We need safe places for parents that are at the end of their rope to turn. We need to stop trying to fix broken families to the detriment of the child born into them. Raising kids is hard & we need the village to help. Otherwise they cant complain about the outcome. Who ever abandoned this child, was someone's kid too. How did she get to the point where this seemed like the option of choice?

The greater "crime" is the society that has been created that forces whomever did this to see this as an option.

That's a crock. Did society tell her to go out and get pregnant? Or did some official go up to her and say "Hey, if you have an unwanted pregnancy, just dump the kid somewhere". No, both those decisions were hers

That's a crock. Did society tell her to go out and get pregnant? Or did some official go up to her and say "Hey, if you have an unwanted pregnancy, just dump the kid somewhere". No, both those decisions were hers

My, my, my, judge jury and executioner here. You have no idea if the mother is the one who did it, and you have no idea the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, or anything, and you put the blame totally on her.

can confirm that there are no other circumstances like rape that might have played into her getting pregnant?

Can you confirm that she doesn't live a promiscuous lifestyle with no thought about its consequences

an you confirm that she doesn't live a promiscuous lifestyle with no thought about its consequences

Me thinks you protest too loudly, maybe you are not the father here, but are crying from experience.

I'm sorry you had to go through it, must have been painful, to have your child taken away when they were born because the woman you got pregnant chose not to keep it and had not other way of dealing with the disgrace of having YOUR child.

Let's hope the child is adopted by good people. I hope my use of "good" isn't too judgmental and offensive to people.

Some harsh words against this mum on here, despite limited information (not much about the why nor how). Dads walking away from fatherhood is and has always been more accepted than mothers doing the same; trying to understand them has never been an option, they are 'evil' full stop.

Am not excusing what she did but I don't want to judge someone I know nothing about. Plus I don't think mums 'abandon' their child for no reason ( financial, depression/psychological etc). They aren't 'valid' reasons as such obviously but ppl and mothers in particular have the right to be weak, depressed, broke, unhappy or simply wrong sometimes.

A baby's life is so precious and should not be wasted. Every child deserves a chance to life and an opportunity to live life to the fullest. Give the baby a chance because if you don't want your baby, you can still plan for his or her future. Instead of abandoning your baby a adoption agency can help you find a responsible stable new loving family in an healthy environment, who can support the baby and take care of all of his or her financial needs.

Instead of abandoning your baby a adoption agency can help you find a responsible stable new loving family in an healthy environment

Do these exist in Japan? I've never heard of them, but I've never looked either.

Japan offers regular and special adoptions and all Japanese adoption agencies in Japan are privately operated. The rate of child adoption in Japan is actually very low compared to the United States even after controlling for demographic characteristics and the market for adoption is characterized by excess supply. But the United States market is characterized by excess demand. Basically the difference might be explained by cultural or historical differences.

I do not know if it is nationwide, but here locally a mother can hand over her newborn at a fire station without any fear of criminal consequences. I think that most of the mothers who abandon their babies are frightened teenagers. If they know that they can hand over their baby safely at a place where it will be cared for, it is better for all concerned. The mother at least knows that she saved their baby's life. Better for both the mother and the baby, and the mother has a set amount of time to change her mind.

Trying to adopt in Japan is like trying to pull lions teeth. The bureaucracy and red tape you go through is enough to make you scream. Blame the system yeah there are adoption agencies but don't expect an adoption to go easy the requirements are age based either you are too young or too old or you don't make enough money or you are not Japanese and many other hoops to jump through.

We have to look at the bright side that the baby was rescued. These stories don't always turn out well....

I see some people talking about adoption. One charity that I contribute to reliably is an orphanage. I have gotten together with other family members and other acquaintances to support them, and it is very rewarding. Of course they were affected by the events of 3.11 etc. etc. The kids seem happy and they are safe and well cared for. I am pretty sure that they do not accept very small infants.

I don't accept the "cultural differences" argument. People who can move around comfortably in Japanese know it is more than that. More than once, my family has discussed adopting one or more children as something real, not just playing around with the idea. There is no question that we could provide a good home and a good community to any one of those kids. Unfortunately, the discussion always stops at peculiar features of the Japanese system that pretty well ensure that only saints would pursue adoption, and I am pretty sure that saints won't make good parents.

What qualifies for sainthood here? Well, there are economic and social barriers against adoption. Being a foreigner would present other hurdles. Then there are financial barriers of simply dealing with fees and insurance and arranging EVERYTHING necessary to do this. Not just paperwork, but repeated paperwork. Constant paperwork.

And even if all of that gets settled, apparently, the child's parent still has....more or less full parental rights. For any reason or for no reason, the child's parent can just show up and take the child and leave. They can make whatever claim, as a parent, they wish, and they will be treated preferentially by the court system. The system gives the biological parent more rights than the adoptive parent in any instance, even though the biological parent has abandoned the child. It follows that the worst situations will be associated with the worst biological parents and the saddest cases of children who are least likely to be able to find help. No restraining order can keep drugged out deadbeat dad from coming and snatching a kid at 3 in the morning. If he enters your house with muddy feet to do so, well, too bad. It is his kid and he can do what he wants.

So you are not just adopting the child, you are adopting his parents too, basically. Maybe you could pay druggie dad a little money every month to keep him from making your life miserable. I am sure it happens.

And that is it, really. It is not cultural. The important difference is legal. No family that already has children will want to put their own children at risk to help someone that might be snatched away at any minute. Nobody who does not already have children is likely to be approved for adoption. I feel it is unlikely that this system will change.

Orphanages are the best it gets in this system. They are more or less the experts in taking care of these kids. Courts will defer to them and destructive parents can be challenged by them.

heartbreaking. I just can't get my head around it. When my boy was born 11 months ago, the sense of joy, pride, love, and responsibility just washed over us in an awesome wave. This poor little one still had the umbilical cord attached to him. I can never understand people who can just throw their kids away.

"Not enough time to get very detailed but I've known about a dozen families in Japan in which one or both of the parents was a foreigner who have successfully adopted and raised children here."

How did I mislead anyone? I did not say it was impossible. I suppose those dozen families were all able to accomplish that easily? What I said is that it was a hurdle. My exact words were.... " Being a foreigner would present other hurdles. " And I know for a fact that it does. So please say how I "misled" someone. Is it not a hurdle? Or do you think that because some people have cleared that hurdle, that it refutes my statement? Be specific because you are saying "very misleading," whereby you are assigning intent to me to mislead. You are calling me a liar.

"My opinion is it doesn't happen as often as it should but authorities do sometimes strip the parental rights from birth parents. In that case there is no barrier to the child"

Now that is misleading. No barrier to the child being adopted? Is that really EVER true? How could that possibly be true? In what nation does anyone know of where there are no barriers to adoption, even after the parents have abrogated or surrendered their rights? There are plenty of barriers, and not just those thrown up by biological parents. Anyway, what I said is that under the circumstances I was facing, there was no stripping of parental rights, and no clear path for me to do that. Can it be done? Maybe. I am not so sure it is a practical path. Thanks for noting your opinion that it does not happen often. I think we agree on that. I suspect we disagree on the meaning of "sometimes," which I think is more like "almost never."

Your last paragraph is a jumbled mash which you admit you made in haste. OK. But parse it. Sato oya is easier because who would object? And the birth parent must agree to adoption.Yes. Now. Why are they going to do that? What inducement or incentive do they have to do that? In the real world, you either negotiate something with a child-abandoning type of person, or they do not agree to give up their rights. OR, if you really love the child, you support the child while the biological parent makes your life miserable by asserting rights. Which is what I wrote above. Can it work out? Of course it can, but only if the child-abandoning person is also a responsible adult who wants what is right for the child. What are the odds of that? How likely is that?

Maybe people pay some big money to the biological parents to get their consent. Maybe that is how it works. I am ecstatic to hear that people are willing to go through the process and take the risks.I called them saints. I looked at it and chose not to even get started. If people can do it, they are saints. How is that misleading?

You correctly note the necessary changes to the family registry. So what? I think everyone here knows that. You have already said that adoption by that route can only occur with the consent of the biological parents, who, one should know, will not even grant those rights when they leave a child at an orphanage. Practically speaking, orphanages in Japan are day care centers that operate 24 hours a day. They are an important institution, but even they have to contend with parents who abandon the kid, but retain all rights. It is exactly the same thing I am complaining about. How is that misleading?

In summary, I am very disappointed that Japan reserves so many rights for people who have children they don't even want to take care of. That is not a cultural thing. That is a legal thing. And truthfully, it rubs me the wrong way. Responsibility should be rewarded and encouraged by the state. Irresponsibility, endangerment, neglect of a child, and abandonment should be eliminated by taking away the rights of adults to do that to children. It is harsh, but it is fair, and it is best for the child.

Thanks to all for giving many information about adoption in Japan. It seems so taboo that no one dares to speak about that subject. In my kid' classes when they were in Japan, it seems no child was without parents, like if kids living in orphanage where living in another world. Is this a reality or just only local misconception of mine ? Good luck to the newborn. Everyone deserves a chance.

"It seems so taboo that no one dares to speak about that subject. In my kid' classes when they were in Japan, it seems no child was without parents, "

It is an interesting point. It is the same way in my neighborhood. It DOES seem like every child has two parents, with a few single mothers. Of course the kids in the orphanage go to schools in their area, and they are generally good students. Compulsory education for the children is a huge social benefit to them through junior high school. It gets a little tricky after that, but there are various social programs that kick in after that to help kids who want to continue with their education.

I don't get the taboo thing. I don't see that. Their situation is not one of a normal family, but they are normal kids with normal personalities, as far as I can tell. They don't seem to be ostracized at school. If anything, it is either so rare in communities, so people have no opinion about it, or there is an orphanage nearby, so a fourth of the student body might be orphans. Either way, there is not much to talk about.

And it brings up the weird subject of the benefits of being an orphan. None of the children has responsibilities to parents, which might be appreciated by a wife someday. The other kids at the orphanage also become kind of an extended family. They are also great at sharing things. Nothing compensates for not having parents, but as a practical matter, there are things they can be thankful for.

Why on earth that she couldn't speak to the medical authorities when she got pregnant ? it is a crime that she did having left the new born in a parking lot .. people are getting crazy these days even in Japan .. and young mother ! I cannot pardon her. I am not sure that she is continues to live happily..