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11-year-old boy falls to death from 4th-floor apartment

17 Comments

An 11-year-old boy fell to his death Monday from the balcony of the fourth-floor apartment where he lived in Hiji, Oita Prefecture.

According to police, another resident called 119 at around 4:30 p.m. to report that a boy was lying in the courtyard. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead, Sankei Shimbun reported.

Police identified the boy as Itsuki Omata who lived with his parents and two other siblings. Police said the boy was home alone at the time, but have not yet determined how he managed to fall.

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17 Comments
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he was home alone?

-10 ( +0 / -10 )

11 years old is a little old for an accidental fall is it not? I mean I guess it depends on what happened... poor child. Im in my 30's now but I stayed home alone all the time when I was 11 so I don't think you can really fault the parents on that account. Tragic all around.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

he was home alone?

Why would an 11 year old being home alone be considered shocking?

12 ( +12 / -0 )

Why would an 11 year old being home alone be considered shocking?

It's not. Some people just want someone to blame.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Very heart-breaking story. I feel for the parents. Tremendous loss. Just devastating.

In this Japanese society it is very normal for an 11-year-old boy to be home alone. If you want to place blame on something. Blame the way we are paid in Japan. This family has kids. Two others? Three in total. What this means is both parents have to work very hard. And Hiji Is a real nice area and upscale. So, the Mansion or apartment this family is living is not going to be cheap. Japan should pay Fathers more so Mom can stay home or work while kids are in school. But with three kids in Japan. Unless you are ultra-wealthy, you’re going to be constantly on the grind to provide for your family. So sad.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

I as a single parent of three boys would leave my sons home alone at a young age only because I raised my sons to be responsible for there actions and they were very mature for their ages and Nothing bad ever happened when they were home alone. No blame here on the parents I am sure they trusted their son to be alone but perhaps they should have told him not to go out on the balcony when he's alone at home & perhaps they did but an accident happened. But for all we know someone through off the balcony and walked out the door and away from the area. Not much info in this article.  R.I.P. Little fellow.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

J.T.

F.YI.

Hate to point out an error or typo on such a sad story. But please see below.

the boy was home along at the time.

Thanks for what you do.

Moderator: Thank you. The typo has been fixed.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's pretty sad. He was probably just playing around and slipped. Boys will be boys!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I can see how this happened. Perhaps he locked himself out of his house and tried to scale up the balcony. Being a latch key kid, I have done this as well, but we lived on the second floor. At age 11, you don't quite understand your own mortality and think you could do anything.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

School entrance exams tests are underway, I wonder if, sadly the Pressure got to him. A huge loss for the Family concerned, and a worry for all other Parents of Kids that age going through the same testing time.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I don't think exams have anything to do with it at 11 he should have one more year in elementary school if I'm not mistaken

0 ( +1 / -1 )

we leave our 11 year old granddaughter home alone frequently, she's certainly mature enough.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

We certainly need more information. Did he fall from the balcony, did he fall out an open window? Suicide is of course a possibility, but at 11 years old, statistically not often.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's not. Some people just want someone to blame.

whats to blame is the building and safety codes in Japan are pathetic, how many high rise buildings in Japan have you seen safety bars put around windows or in the window frames, they should be mandatory and child proof so they cant be climbed over.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I work with a bunch of 11 year olds. While the majority are fairly competent and more or less have common sense, there are a few that make you go hmmmmmmmm.

There have been an instance or two, where a kid does something pretty foolish right in front of everyone, and it's like "kid, are you serious?"

While this story does seem incomplete, there may not be more to it then an unfortunate accident.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Boys will be boys!

Go say that to his parents. I'm sure they will be thrilled.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

whats to blame is the building and safety codes in Japan are pathetic

If the building and safety codes in Japan were pathetic, most of the high rises in Tokyo would have collapsed during the 3.11 quake. It was pretty damn strong.

how many high rise buildings in Japan have you seen safety bars put around windows or in the window frames

No more than is typical elsewhere. People who can afford a high rise condo don't want to feel like they are in a prison.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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