crime

Woman assaults 14-year-old son over TV channel dispute

44 Comments

Police in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, have arrested a 39-year-old woman on suspicion of attempted murder after she attacked her 14-year-old son following a dispute over changing the TV channel.

According to police, Yukiko Inoue tried to strangle her son at around 9 p.m. on May 29. Later that night, Inoue called 110 to report what she had done. The boy sustained minor injuries to his neck.

Police said the boy told them his mother grabbed him by the throat and threatened to kill him, Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said that over the past two years, child welfare authorities have been notified three times about violent family behavior at the suspect’s residence.

Inoue was quoted by police as saying she choked her son but denied any intent to kill him. She said she got angry with her son because he kept changing the TV channel.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

44 Comments
Login to comment

Police said that over the past two years, child welfare authorities have been notified three times about violent family behavior at the suspect’s residence.

It makes you wonder what you have to do to get them to step in and do something.

9 ( +10 / -3 )

Wow! Parenting issues! Her 14 year old kid is probably just another little punk because of her previous lack of good parenting. And now, she tries to kill him because of her own failure. Full circle failure!

8 ( +16 / -8 )

Inoue was quoted by police as saying she choked her son but denied any intent to kill him.

Of course that is what you are going to say after the fact, but your son tells another story. You need some serious help here, and I am afraid your son does too.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

Of all the things one could get angry over and assault a loved one over, Japanese TV would not be high on my list I'm afraid.

7 ( +13 / -6 )

Having to compete with the TV for a parent's love is tough. Iceland had the right idea (until the 80s at least): no broadcasting on Thursdays or for the whole of July.

I think there is a real addiction problem here to tv...especially stupid tv and very LOUD tv.

If by 'here' you mean Earth, fully agreed. It's hardly limited to these shores, though.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

Don't most households have 2-3 TVs? Its 2016, not 1950.

Actually, it's 1965. But with smartphones.

5 ( +6 / -2 )

Attempts to kill somebody for a Japanese TV channel ? Something that I will never understand.....

5 ( +6 / -1 )

A MOMSTER!

4 ( +10 / -6 )

Once again we are told : "child welfare authorities have been notified three times about violent family behavior at the suspect’s residence." What is wrong with this country's child welfare system that it receives that many reports and still leaves the child in an abusive environment?

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Police said that over the past two years, child welfare authorities have been notified three times about violent family behavior at the suspect’s residence.

and once again, failure by the welfare authorities to do their job properly...

TVs are quite inexpensive these days, buy the kid his own TV... (I did that for mine - not because we "fought" over it but because when he wanted to watch "Doraemon", I wanted to watch the News...)

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Have they taken the kid away from her? More information!?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

At least she had the courage to call the cops on herself, before she went to far. It looks like they would both be better off living separately.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Don't most households have 2-3 TVs?

maybe so, but is it better to have more than 1 TV? We choose to have just 1 TV at our house for reasons... And yes, someone in our family gets frustrated when he/she wants to watch something and someone else is watching other channel. But do we get angry? no. We either record the other show, or give up and do something else.

this problem with the mother is not the TV itself, it is her anger management issue. buying extra TV won't fix her issue.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Another day in Japan.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

My ex-fiance once got into a full-blown screaming match with her mother over the light switch in the living room before TV time - resulting in tears & an awkward silence. You have to understand that in the inaka, TV is everything. They watch hours upon hours of it.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

seek help before too late for both

1 ( +5 / -4 )

sometimes when I'm waiting somebody I can hear some monster parents grabbing 2, 3 years old kids, saying nasty stuff while glued to their smartphones. It makes me sad, not only for the kid itself but because witness these things you can find the source of the bullies, wicked people in this society. A 4 year old kid, dyed hair, shouting he's gonna "punch to death" his little friend, like a normal, innocent phrase. Seeing this makes me want to punch the parents for creating another unpleasant human being. 腹たつ…

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Most 14 year olds are pretty strong, so that has to be a very robust mom!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Don't stand in the way of a mother that wants to watch her favorite Korean drama :P

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Where is the gaman of the Japanese ? Where has it gone?

Strangulation of one by the other usually ends in death!

Where did the mother learn this odd form of parenting?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

They both learnt their behaviors from the TV, so whose fault is that? Moral of the story, sell your TV, it full of rubbish and bad influences.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

One mother I knew 25 years ago told me her son would ignore her, stay in his room and watch Tv. She got fed up and walked in with a hammer and smashed the TV. Problem solved. Maybe this mother loved her Tv more than her son and the son was just trying to piss her off. Well done lad.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Thank you Lloyd, you nailed it.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"minor injuries to his neck" doesn't sound like the result of attempted murder by strangulation.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The news video:

https://youtu.be/i7VjnDL5oLg

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Parenting in this country is very questionable. There is so many stories about children falling out of high rise buildings and just this week the leaving of a child on the side of a deserted forest road. If they stop abusing the children they might not have such a problem with the old age population ratio.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Attempts to kill somebody for a Japanese TV channel ? Something that I will never understand.....

Believe it or not, Japanese people like Japanese TV before you came and after you leave.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Attempts to kill somebody for a Japanese TV channel ? Something that I will never understand.....

Must watch TV.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Parenting in this country is very questionable. There is so many stories about children falling out of high rise buildings and just this week the leaving of a child on the side of a deserted forest road. If they stop abusing the children they might not have such a problem with the old age population

This is a ridiculous comment. There are so many stories of bad parenting in every single country on this entire planet. Japanese parents for the most part are pretty good, provide their children with a safe, loving environment in which to live, support their education and hobbies, and try to dedicate time to the family.

You seem to have fallen into that logical fallacy of believing that because you read some stories of bad parenting, all parents must be bad. Sorry, but it doesn't work that way.

0 ( +7 / -7 )

I hope at least one of the mother or son was arguing to turn the thing off! That is how I improve my Japanese TV experience, if turning the sound down doesn't do the trick.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Come on folks, you know there is more to this than changing TV channels; anyone would think no one here has been in a family before.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Brat should respect his mother, that is it.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

To be upset because he kept changing the channel....Clearly she has anger issues or maybe her ex left her.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Someone get that family a pepper shaker that turns off electronics with one twist.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Believe it or not, Japanese people like Japanese TV before you came and after you leave.

Thanks. but believe it or not, you do not represent the whole "Japanese people".

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Let's face it, there simply are kids who understand nothing but good old beating up. But since this is a no-no in a modern society, what should the parents do?!!

Denial of conveniences. The obvious first thing to do in this case was unplug the TV until the child relinquishes the remote. Send them to their room... AFTER making them leave their cellphone. If they leave the house without permission, call the cops. Repeated problems will result in termination of their cell account. I guarantee if you put a 14 year old's cell service at risk, they are going to start paying attention to what you say.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

And it begins in Japan too.... children calling 110 or Child Welfare when a parent disciplines them. Yes, choking your kid is definitely frowned upon. no matter how much you want to sometimes.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Its just a teenager.. The mother must have some serious mental problems that should be treated immediately..

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"SAITAMA"

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

It's really sad and frightening that over some mediocre disagreement over a TV channel would result to strangling. My youngest daughter is 4 so we our TV is non-stop My little pony and Ever after high beat that?!!

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Don't most households have 2-3 TVs? Its 2016, not 1950.

-5 ( +3 / -7 )

I think there is a real addiction problem here to tv...especially stupid tv and very LOUD tv.

-7 ( +7 / -13 )

Those kids nowadays! Or wait, should i say those reporters nowadays? Let's face it, there simply are kids who understand nothing but good old beating up. But since this is a no-no in a modern society, what should the parents do?!!

-17 ( +9 / -25 )

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