The trial of a 41-year-old man who has been charged with fatally abusing his 10-year-old daughter will begin on Feb 21, the Chiba District Court said.
Yuichiro Kurihara is accused of repeatedly abusing his daughter Mia who was found dead on Jan 24 in the bathroom of their home in Noda, Chiba Prefecture. Kurihara’s wife Nagisa, 32, was sentenced on June 26 to 30 months in prison, suspended for five years with probation, for failing to report the abuse by her husband.
The court said there will be 10 sessions through March 9 with a ruling expected to be handed down after that.
The case gained nationwide headlines after it came to light that a child welfare center, Mia's school, and other local services did not properly respond to Mia's repeated calls for help.
Mia was taken into protective custody at the center on Nov 7, 2017 after she reported in a school questionnaire that her father "bullied" her. She told child welfare center officials that her father had woken her up at night and pulled her pants down, Kyodo News reported. During interviews conducted while she was in protective custody at the Kashiwa child welfare center, the girl also gave accounts of her father's physical abuse, such as covering her mouth and nose with his hands while she was asleep.
The center ended her protective custody, even though a doctor said she had been subjected to assaults as well as sexual abuse and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder.
But as she started saying she wanted to go home, the center concluded the abuse was not serious and ended her protection as of Dec 27 that year so she could stay with relatives. She was allowed to return home on Feb 28, 2018.
The case has revealed a lack of coordination among authorities on the situation and questionable responses.
Officials of local governments failed to share information on the family despite the abuse allegations and a local education board provided a copy of Mia's complaint to her father. Welfare officials also failed to check on the girl's safety after her protective custody ended.
© Japan Today/Kyodo
17 Comments
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Yubaru
Can't begin soon enough!
miss_oikawa
What the flying ....!! Why the heck was the father not arrested at the time????
Concerned Citizen
There was a terrible lack of concern for the welfare of the child. Heartbreaking.
Mr Nobody
Another precious life been taken because of unawareness and unconcern’s people who that precious child asking for help! In my experience in japan, I don’t have doubt those things is happening in this beautiful cultures and well manner people and country. Family and friends awareness of asking help especially to an individual who are bullied and abuse are taken for granted! If something asking for help for abuse, give help, we are one big whole tribe in this world.
Chip Star
The case gained nationwide headlines after it came to light that a child welfare center, Mia's school, and other local services did not properly respond to Mia's repeated calls for help.
This doesn't seem to be an exception.
It turns my stomach, makes me want to cry, and causes me to want to destroy something beautiful thinking about the fear, confusion. /!; pain this little girl suffered.
gogogo
This cockroach needs to fry.
poollymook
Fail all around. There is a huge lack of feeling of community and warmth in this land that breaks my heart. And public welfare and government organizations need to open up and build better channels of communication in this country- so unbelievably unorganized!
DOEL HARRY
Yeah seems all the agencies dropped the ball on this case & the one that paid the price was little Mia. A "local education board provided a copy of Mia's complaint to her father" Now that was a Stupid thing to do. Time to reorganize these agencies fire some of the staff and share information between all concerned agencies.
DaDude
If this country really cherishes the youth because of the declining population, judges needs to lay the hammer down on people like this instead of handing out rinky dink sentences to child murderers and abusers.
Disillusioned
There are more people in this loop of continued abuse that should be facing charges than just the parents.
smithinjapan
"The center ended her protective custody, even though a doctor said she had been subjected to assaults as well as sexual abuse and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder. "
Good old Japan! And now that the girl has died, which happens all to often when these idiots in "protective custody" don't want to do their jobs and send the kids home, the finger pointing and "Who could have known" begins. Lock the people at protective custody up, and give the parents a far longer sentence. This poor girl was failed by everyone around her.
commanteer
Great idea. It's very difficult to people to do these jobs as it is. Let's also threaten them with prison if they don't perform to everybody's satisfaction. That will encourage new people to enter the profession. We will have to find the money to expand the welfare facilities, of course, as virtually no children will ever be returned to their parents, as the staff will take the safe way out to avoid prison.
Serrano
covering her mouth and nose with his hands while she was asleep.
I'd like to see his mouth and nose covered while he's awake.
oldman_13
Death penalty.
Robert pearce
Absolutely horrible, i feel for this little girl .
Sounds like his wife was next on his hit list.
Hang this monster as he dosent belong to live.
serendipitous1
Inaction is complicity. Why did the wife only get a suspended sentence? Ridiculous.
Stino San
This is heartbreaking. Authorities should treat cases like this with the highest priority and hand out serious sentences to ALL involved in order to send a clear message to society. If protecting children from this kind of heinous behavior is not a priority for a society than what is???