3-year-old girl falls to her death from 9th-floor apartment

Never leave your kids unattended.

Two 3 year old children from the same building fall and die within a year. Like Chris Rock says "That ain't right". Why wouldn't you take her with you. Then you didn't lock the balcony door effectively if at all? Things that make you say hmmmm.

the UK law is that all of these type rails are 1 M tall, 70cm is that or slightly less of a height of a child, so I am surprised that the 4 year old would not have a problem getting over it, its a shame that we have to loose children in such tragic circumstances.

Same apartmen building!!!???

Same building?! That's kinda creepy...

70 cm is way too short, my 3 year old is nearly 100 cm tall and could easily climb over a fence that tall, all they need is anything lying around they can use as a step.

These stories about little kids falling to their deaths are way too common here, awareness of the need to child proof upper story apartments needs to be increased quite a bit.

Poor girl.

The father is responsible for leaving the child. That said, 70cm is the height of a typical table in Japan. A child could get up that high in no time. If you have a desk or table that high, try walking into it. It could send you over if you were drunk or were having a seizure or a stroke. It is inherently unsafe.

If this happened in the SAME building and you have a child the SAME age, it seems like you would either take your child with you or at least safety proof your apartment if you are crazy enough to a 3 year old at home alone.

I often feel sympathy on this site for parents such as the father whose son jumped in the washing machine as he slept or the ones who accidentally hit their children by their car. This time I only feel sorry for the mother and child, not the lousy father.

Here is some footage of the apartment building. The way the veranda is done gave me the chills.

http://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_society/articles/000122673.html

"According to police, the girl’s 36-year-old father, who is Chinese..."

What the heck does his nationality matter? He was a bad father, same as we hear about bad mothers leaving their kids and the same thing happening on a near daily basis.

The father may very well have been Chinese, but the idiot that designed the building with 70cm railings was not.

Could it be that the rail (metal portion) itself was 70 meters but together with the concrete portion on which it is mounted, it was much higher than 70 meters? I find it hard to believe that authorities would approve a high-rise building with such short rails. 70 meters is short even for adults. Railings are usually waist height at the very least!!

The father may very well have been Chinese, but the idiot that designed the building with 70cm railings was not.

You can also visit an apartment before renting it too. If you have or planning to have kids, take one look at the balcony and say naw, let's find a safer place. It is one of the many reasons I bought a house.

What a loss

The following report confirms that it's UR, i.e., it's public housing.

http://www.saitama-np.co.jp/news/2018/03/12/01.html

Public housing should be safe for everyone, young and old. Even when apartments are not specifically designed for families with children, they should not be place children at risk who are simply visiting their grandparents or uncle/aunt. Public housing is cheaper than market rents, so some of the people living there may have limited choice about living elsewhere.

There’s something called as incident investigation. It is supposed to come up with recommendations of preventive measures. The investigators, under the guidance of the lead investigator are supposed to furnish the report including the root causes and these recommendations to the relevant authorities. This is the process that I know of. What I don’t know is that if it was done when the boy fell from 8F.

Poor little children. Very sad. And for their parents too, even if they failed.

Loneliness has unexpected consequences.

Horrible, my thoughts are with the family, the last thing they need now is judgmental folk casting stones at them online.

70cm is NOT average. That is extremely short. Many children are taller than that.

The building owner needs to make some changes.

I can't understand!!! why is everybody focusing on the height of the fence?!?! how about the fact that he left his three-year-old daughter alone!???!!

that person

I can't understand!!! why is everybody focusing on the height of the fence?!?!

Because once you have been in the "JT Community" long enough, what is unsaid is already understood and agreed upon. It's the same as pointing out the elephant in the room. And the safety precautions of that public housing facility being non-existent is deplorable; Exacerbated by the fact that there was already a death last year at this exact building. Nets are inexpensive.

RIP that poor child, and best regards to the mother.

These rails need to be way higher, at least 1 meter may be 1.5 meters

the girl’s 36-year-old father, who is Chinese, had gone shopping, leaving her alone in the apartment

We live on the 4th floor of a apartment block, and all my doors have double locks on them, and when we do have the doors open, I watch my 3 year old like a hawk, he is not allowed to step outside unless he is with me or his mother, kids falling to their death is way to common here. ... Hope they charge the father with negligence.

Japanese Industrial Standards shinning as ever. RIP little one.

That 70cm balcony would have given me the heebie-jeebies the instant i went to check out the balcony. There is no way i would have left it like that, for my OWN safety. I would have installed bars or something to raise that little section up to at least 1m.

That would have happened regardless of whether i have kids. What a scary building design...

First thing I did when we had a baby was check the width and height and gaps of the railings on the balcony. Measured everything from a child's point of view, and installed netting where I had any doubt. All I feel is sorrow for the family.