Woman arrested over drowning of 2-year-old grandson

Just a heartbreaking story, not knowing all about what caused her to do it, hard to believe. She must have been really stressed at her own kid failure to take care of his or her own kid,

some people just can't handle kids at her age.

Horrific stuff.

People unfamiliar with Japan get the impression that it is a country of low crime. And in many ways it is. But when crimes do happen, they are shocking to those people because they're so extreme. I mean drowning a 2 year old? That's beyond warped.

I always try and explain it by comparing it to a volcano. People get more and more stressed and don't let it out, until it explodes, at which point they have literally lost the capacity to reason and consequently end up doing things like this.

Eriko Kimoto, also tried to drown herself but was unable to go through with it.

does she need some assistance? I’m sure someone would be willing to help.

Stefan DrapeaufauxToday 08:34 am JST

People unfamiliar with Japan get the impression that it is a country of low crime. And in many ways it is. 

In Japan most violent crimes happen with people who know each other, like family members, neighbours or co-workers. The Japanese prison population is indeed small compared to many countries worldwide.

Unknown people are rarely attacked, you need not to be worried about street criminality and I do not know any place regardless if in cities or rural areas which are considered to be unsafe.

About this case, I guess this woman is mentally disturbed, a case for a secure mental ward.

People unfamiliar with Japan get the impression that it is a country of low crime. And in many ways it is. But when crimes do happen, they are shocking to those people because they're so extreme. I mean drowning a 2 year old? That's beyond warped.

And they're not wrong. Crime in Japan is low compared to other countries. Tho that doesn't mean there's no crime. Wherever there are humans good will happen, as well as bad ones. And when those bad things happen, they could probably leave a worse scar on society cause people are not use to it. Which not a bad thing, nor good. It's just what it is.

In a way, it reminds me of the 2004 film "The Village."

2 is so young and 50 is not so old! RIP little man and burn for eternity twist woman, no excuses!

This just makes me want to go to my daughter's daycare, pick her up and hug her. That baby did nothing to deserve that!

I can’t grasp why so many child killing are always happening in Japan. What is the leading root cause and how can we prevent future occurrences? What is the jgovt doing to solve this problem? Seems like every other day a child is murder and it’s heartbreaking news.

One must understand the whole situation before judgement.

Where is the mother… father.?

Physical and mental capacity of the child?

Grandparents chronically ill?

Too many calling guilt here without any facts

ShinkansenCaboose

One must understand the whole situation before judgement.

Where is the mother… father.?

Physical and mental capacity of the child?

Grandparents chronically ill?

Too many calling guilt here without any facts

Exactly. We do not know about the scenario, the article does not give any background, and usual the forum comments are based on speculation.

Acute depression, perhaps related to her changing endocrine physiology? One can only guess but, in cases of infanticide, so rarely grandparents. And suicidal ideation overruled by the brainstem, but too late for the child. "The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation." Today, Thoreau would have said 'people' and here we may have an example of what that desperation can do and in her desperation, wanted to spare the child living in such a world. We'll never know and can only hope we never find out for ourselves. A tragedy that I find myself ashamed that I have words for...

heartbreaking... rest in peace little one

I am not very happy with her, if you want to kill your self, well go ahead, but dont take others with you especially todlers as young as her grandson, they dont understand the complexity of life and cant make up there minds at this young age. she should of handed him back to someone, then take her own life, dont involve others......

I feel sick. It wasn't the mother but the grandmother??? Why on earth would anyone do that??? Maybe the mother is young and in a situation where she was unable to properly take care of her child. Leaving your child in the care of grandparents seems like the responsible thing to do until you can get your life together. But my god.

I was a single parent for a while. I couldn't keep up the needs of a full time job. No childcare support and having to leave early to pick my son up. I could see my son was suffering and at the time, I was just focused on keeping food on the table and the electricity on. So I made the heart wrenching decision to let him live with my mother. She was able to provide him what I could not at the time. I think I made the right decision. So I wouldn't judge the parents of this poor child. They were probably doing what they thought was in his best interest. Who would know grandma was a psychotic child murderer?

Beyond tragic. Such a sad image 50 year old women holding her dead grandson in failed suicide attempt. Instinct says that this is not a time for some sort of quick harsh judgment. Just overwhelmed with life it the worst possible way.

Seeking any help in Japan is usually met with barriers and an attitude of derision-Not an easy country to get help in…

That's two today alone. Sick and disgusting people.

"Police quoted her as saying she killed her grandson, but she gave no reason."

What reason could she possibly give that would ever justify it. She has none, and so she couldn't speak. Let's hope she gets life in prison for it.

psycho lady

Heartbreaking.

Probably she had some mental issues.

People unfamiliar with Japan get the impression that it is a country of low crime. And in many ways it is.

People believe this pattern: low crime = happy country, heaven on earth. So these kinds of crimes are very shocking. Surely in Japan you won't see motorcycle chases and people shooting each other on the street (not yet) but it doesn't mean they don't have their problems. I think the worst enemies of the Japanese are Japanese themselves.

People unfamiliar with Japan get the impression that it is a country of low crime. And in many ways it is.

Yeah, it is. Japan, on any ranking, always ranks in the top five safest countries on the planet, and often the first.

Some people read the news, get hysteric, and think its a hell hole though. These people aren't smart enough to realize that pretty much everywhere else is worse.

There are rankings showing that Japan is in the top 10 for child murder reports. This is a strange result, how can one of the "safest" countries in the world do it? As one of the safest countries in the world, the murder of a child weighs heavily. If we assume that Japan is heaven because it is safe, how can we accept it? (and this is the mistake, for me).

Just a random url (find by yourself on internet, enjoy)

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/children-komicides-1-and-children-0-14-rates-per-million-classified-by-baby-neonatali_tbl3_278396389

There are rankings showing that Japan is in the top 10 for child murder reports. This is a strange result, how can one of the "safest" countries in the world do it?

Maybe try reading the link. You're making a tempest out of a teacup:

Infant homicides were 0.097 per cent of all total infant deaths, statistically very rare, with most countries having rates of less 20 pm. ...

So while Japan may rank highly on this one issue, this issues almost never happens. Hardly enough to make Japan an unsafe country.

For a comparison, it's like saying you're more likely to die of a penguin attack in Antarctica than anywhere else, then trying to claim that this makes Antarctica unsafe.

One must understand the whole situation before judgement.

Where is the mother… father.?

Physical and mental capacity of the child?

Grandparents chronically ill?

What is it with people here assuming the parents are deadbeats? Did none of you ever get babysat by your grandparents?

I fail to see how the physical/mental capacity is relevant vis a vis this woman’s guilt. Unless you’re implying the the child being physically or mentally handicapped justified the grandmother killing them.

Apparently the grandmother wasn’t so chronically ill that she couldn’t go pick the child up from preschool, take them to a pond, and drown them.

So while Japan may rank highly on this one issue, this issues almost never happens. Hardly enough to make Japan an unsafe country.

It doesn't say Japan is a dangerous country, it says Japan is not heaven on earth, it helps to understand why people are so shocked when they read such news. People believe that since here no one goes out of the house shooting everyone so no one can have mental problems or just do similar things. It's amazing how much misinformation and illusion there is about Japanese society and behavior.

There seems to be either a misunderstanding or a lack of awareness of the conditions and events that lead to the killing of children by their guardians.

Simply opining, which is emotive, is all fine & good, but does not add to understanding the subject at hand. The article itself is lacking in substantive information which could aid in comprehending a rather heinous act committed by a caregiver of a very young child.

The reasons may not be obvious, but there are sources that deal with child abuse, which leads to the murder of children at the hands of their guardian. Typically, the abuse is ongoing and in this particular case ends in homicide. Currently, one large factor is the pandemic, the lack of social services personnel and barriers to home visits because of the virus. Other factors are ongoing and fit patterns of abuse.

It doesn't say Japan is a dangerous country, it says Japan is not heaven on earth

Quite the strawman. No one is saying it is. Except some people who have never lived here maybe.

So yeah, it's not a heaven on earth. Nowhere is. But if you're looking for safety, Japan is amazing in that regard.

But not an idyllic fairy land that some religions believe in. You're correct.