crime

Parents get 13 years for letting 33-year-old schizophrenic daughter freeze to death

22 Comments

The Osaka District Court has sentenced a 57-year-old man and his 55-year-old wife to 13 years in prison for parental neglect resulting in the death of their 33-year-old schizophrenic daughter whom they kept confined in a room at their home in Neyagawa, Osaka Prefecture, for 15 years.

According to the court ruling on Thursday, Yasutaka Kakimoto and his wife Yukari kept their daughter Airi in a small room fitted with a double door that could be unlocked only from the outside. Inside the unheated room, there was a makeshift toilet and a tube designed to allow the woman to drink water from a tank sitting outside.

About 10 outdoor surveillance cameras were installed at the house in case any visitors should come. A two-meter-high fence surrounded the house.

The Kakimotos reported Airi’s death to the police in December 2017. An autopsy revealed she had frozen to death and that she was in a state of extreme malnutrition, weighing only 19 kilograms and standing 145 centimeters tall.

The Kaimotos told the court they confined Airi to the tiny room for around 15 years because they said her mental illness made her violent.

Airi was diagnosed as being schizophrenic when she was 17, the court heard.

© Japan Today/Kyodo

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

22 Comments
Login to comment

"Airi was diagnosed as being schizophrenic when she was 17, the court heard."

And...what did they do about it? Did they even try? Mental health physician? Medicine? Therapy? Or is all that too "mendoukusai"? If you have a problem, reach out for help. It's not nearly as hard as they've come to think it is.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ cosmos1

please read about bpd and other b cluster disorders as bi polar is very frequently miss diagnosed and it’s actually npd or bod or both. Hope it helps.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If a normal person would end destroyed after such torture for such a long time, imagine a schizophrenic person.

What a horrible fate.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The heartlessness of Japanese is beyond belief. All because they didn’t want to be shamed by society? Sick. A society that values that over a life is in serious need of a kick up the behind.

I hope the time passes really slowly for these two animals and they suffer to their last stinking breath.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Locking her in a room and feeding her like a hamster was the preferred option to letting the neighbours know that something was wrong. Looking “bad” is the worst thing to many Japanese.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

think of her suffering for such long time alone by herself, breaks my heart.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Japan failed this poor girl. It also has blood on its hands.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

I love Japan, but the medical establishment here, while super efficient in most areas, are really behind when it comes to understanding and accepting those with some form of mental illness.

There still is a widely-held perception that some how it is the patient's fault or something one has to be ashamed of.

Good luck trying to get a prescription for depression, schizophrenia ADHD, or any other mental illness.

I feel so sorry for the daughter who died, all she needed was to see a competent MD.

Glad the parents will be going away and have many years to reflect on what they did.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

This is horrible. I have a good friend with schizophrenia and I worry for her every damn day. I hope bad things happen to these so-called 'parents', but I doubt it.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

@talaraedokko

Good going Japan. You’re a great example to the world. Time to start comparing Japan to some dark countries; maybe shame will egg the country on.

And pray tell, what "dark countries" are you talking about?

There have been plenty of similar cases of horrendous abuse in many, many, many other countries. None of them are "dark", man.

And come on, this is a shocking case, but to blame it on the whole of Japan is ridiculous.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

According to the court ruling on Thursday, Yasutaka Kakimoto and his wife Yukari kept their daughter Airi in a small room fitted with a double door that could be unlocked only from the outside. Inside the unheated room, there was a makeshift toilet and a tube designed to allow the woman to drink water from a tank sitting outside.

About 10 outdoor surveillance cameras were installed at the house in case any visitors should come. A two-meter-high fence surrounded the house.

Jesus Christ...This sounds like something from a Saw movie. How could someone do this to their own flesh and blood, especially someone who is already suffering so much as a result of her illness? This woman needed treatment, not torture. This woman needed proper medication, not to be left to die like some kind of animal.

I’ve worked with people with schizophrenia and it is heartbreaking. To watch someone’s own mind turn against them is beyond saddening. Clearly the parents need a permanent stay in a padded cell, because nothing short of full psychopathy could have led to this.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

The lack of proper social services for the mentally ill (or the inefficiency thereof) and the absolute incompetence of the services in other cases (childcare, etc) in this country is boggling the mind.

@talaraedokko

Time to start comparing Japan to some dark countries

I agree. I have always thought since I arrived to this country that in many regards this place resembles a regime more than a functional democracy. The culture and the social norms are especially hair-raising if you come from a socially sensitive country from Western Europe for example.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

My sister has a bi-polar problem, eats , smokes like a trooper ....apart from that she lives a pretty normal life on her meds... goes off the deep end sometimes when her meds give her ingenious ideas of her being on the right side of the thin red line where everybody else is downright stupid on the other side .Love my sister , she's a great laugh and know's her situation.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

The parents could have had social worker come regularly and inspect the housing parents provided and food. The state did nothing and is complicit . How many years is the minister for health & Welfare and the prime minister getting for not providing services for the parents? The parents chose to try at least (miserably). Did the state even bother? Where is the outrage at the state?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Wow so they sadistically tortured their own daughter to death.

They should get life like they gave her!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Guess parents should have kicked her out at 18. They're wishing they had done that now...

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

He story is horrible and the editing is also. 19 kg? 13 years in prison? The girl suffered for 15. The parents should get at least that amount. Where’s social services? They knew of her condition. No follow up. Of course, no one is responsible. Typical. One of these I don’t want to get my hands dirty cases. Good going Japan. You’re a great example to the world. Time to start comparing Japan to some dark countries; maybe shame will egg the country on.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Jeeze, how horrible. How were they allowed to do this?

18 ( +18 / -0 )

Is there no state provision to help care for people like this?  How were the parents allowed to do this?

19 ( +19 / -0 )

weighing only 19 kilograms

Jesus! This is very hard to read without wanting to cry.

Rest In Peace.

16 ( +16 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites