4-year-old boy falls between shinkansen, platform

Scary!! Very lucky boy!! Great job passenger who stopped the train!!

This is a parent’s worst nightmare! I’m glad to see that every body pulled together and helped

Why don't people carry their children on and off these trains..some of my 4 year old students are as small as 2 year old's still and I can see them being small enough to fall between that space..this happens so often recently..Glad that passenger had a quick mind to stop the train!

no parents, watching him, by any chance? holding his hand while boarding the train?

Or just fidding with her cell phone 10 feet ahead of him?

It's not only children that fall in those gaps. Adults can fall through them as well. I always look down when I step off the train because some those gaps are very large in some places especially when the platform have a curve. You just have to turn off your cellphone and pay attention.

10:10 PM and a mother allows her four year old son to get off a train alone? More so a shinkansen that more often than not has a wide space between train and platform? You hold his hand or carry him at that age and more so if it is that late and the poor child is sleepy.

Honest to god the parenting here is beyond insane at times.

Care for your kids and hold their hands in public you numb skulls, sheesh it should be common sense.

So, will JR be paying compensation for not having the common sense to place a small ramp over that 20cm gap? ... I think not. Yet they sue some old lady for not having the common sense to handcuff her demented husband in the apartment.

A bit of a double standard I think.

No double standard at all. A lack of common sense on the part of the mother. You can't have a ramp with trains flying through the stations as they do - which is why they have warning signs ALL over the place. Perhaps we should all wrap up in bubble wrap and refuse to take responsibilty for anything.

A bit of a double standard I think.

On the contrary, both cases seem to indicate the same standard: that families are responsible for their family members.

A 4 year doesn't 'do' that, they are allowed to by a stupid guardian / parent.

Damn, this is the second time it's happened - first that woman which all passengers tilted the train for, and now this kid. A 20 cm gap is not even that wide - the mind boggles.

Thankfully the child is OK. There are places a parent must hold tightly to a child's hand. Anywhere on the platform would qualify as such a place - doubly so if trains are in the station. Brutal parenting.

Remember what is said when riding the London underground (subway), "Mind The Gap."

Wonder if the train company will sue them for causing them to lose money like they sued the family of the Alzheimer's person. Perhaps if people began suing the train Company they would make these places safer. I read about people falling between the gap constantly. Sue the train stations and maybe they will do something. They sue family members who have fallen and they lost money because of delays. let it be the other way around. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Why are people blaming the mother? I was getting of the Shinkansen only last week holding my sons hand and was watching when he stepped off the train,he still nearly fell between the gap after i had told him, He is 7 and a bit more alert than a 4 year old ,yet it still can happen The fault lies with the train company plain and simple, not a mother who maybe had pram,luggage,maybe other kids to contended with,

As the British say, 'mind the gap'.

Liam RobertsAug. 23, 2013 - 10:32PM JST Why are people blaming the mother? I was getting of the Shinkansen only last week holding my sons hand and was watching when he stepped off the train,he still nearly fell between the gap after i had told him, He is 7 and a bit more alert than a 4 year old ,yet it still can happen The fault lies with the train company plain and simple, not a mother who maybe had pram,luggage,maybe other kids to contended with,

This is what I was getting at. The environment was unsafe, JR knows that kids ride their trains and that they cannot be carried everywhere. A 20cm gap is a BIG distance for a kid.

tmarieAug. 23, 2013 - 05:33PM JST No double standard at all. A lack of common sense on the part of the mother. You can't have a ramp with trains flying through the stations as they do - which is why they have warning signs ALL over the place. Perhaps we should all wrap up in bubble wrap and refuse to take responsibilty for anything.

Actually you can have ramps. The USED to have them on trains in London, I remember. The ramps would fold down when the door was opened and then fold back in as the door was closed. Not at all complex. As for warning signs, maybe your kid is a super-genius who could read at 4, but this kid couldn't.

slumdogAug. 23, 2013 - 06:00PM JST On the contrary, both cases seem to indicate the same standard: that families are responsible for their family members.

Actually no, the last case was about taking reasonable precautions. The judge didn't think the family had taken reasonable steps to restrain the old man. In this case I don't think that JR took reasonable safety precautions. Do you understand now?

As a parent myself, my children safety comes first. Knowing very well, boarding trains is always a safety consideration for myself and my children, I will ensure I hold my kid's hand to board safely. This happens due to the carelessness of the mother and nobody else.

I have even seen a 40+ year old lady carrying a baby walking straight into the platform and fell directly unto the rails when there was not even a train to board. How stupid and careless the guardian of this poor child. I wondered what was on her mind at that point in time? Can't she see there is no train waiting? I bet the child and her slammed directly head on unto the rails, thanks god there was no incoming train at that time. I can feel the agony of the poor child slamming onto the hard iron rail.

Do you understand now?

I am not sure that tone is necessary. The standards you are claiming are double are those of JR, right? Well, in both cases, JR is expecting people to take care of their family members and guard them against dangers. So, to them, it is not a double standard at all. Stairs are also dangerous. Should JR be sued if a child falls down the stairs? A judge in this case could reasonably ask whether the parent took care to make sure their child was safe in a situation that could easily be understood to be dangerous. To throw it back to you: Do you understand now?

As to ramps, many city systems have platform sections that move to meet the train once it is in the station. Perhaps something like that could work.

That 20cm gap was there for years before this little boy fell through it, and will be there for years after. And yet, considering the number of people using the train, very few actually fall through it. It is NOT inherently unsafe. Unless you are a 4 year old child trying to navigate it alone.

Mother might have had other kids/luggage/a pram? Boo hoo. Its not hard to travel alone with 3 kids under 7 plus all the associated junk that goes with it, and still get them on and off the train safely. Ive done it many times. So have countless others. Children dont fall down gaps to the point of hurting themselves and causing a delay if you are holding on to them, period.

That mother must be put in jail. But a 20cm gap between the train and the platform is too much to be safe.

Perhaps the mom had her hands full with the luggage. An unfortunate incident, but I'd get all the facts before blaming the mother.

Who knows what the mother was doing? All too often mothers are playing with their smart phones, but I hope this wasn't the case here.

So much for a parent or guardian watching a little 4 year old! It could have been so much worse, hope they learned a very important lesson!