national

5-year-old boy drowns in river in Tokyo

20 Comments

A 5-year-old boy who was visiting Akiruno City, Tokyo, with his parents drowned in the Akigawa River on Sunday, police said.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. when the child and his family came to the river, Fuji TV reported. The area is a popular barbecue and campground destination.

The boy wandered away from his parents and was found floating in the river. He was rushed to the hospital, in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest, and was confirmed dead a short time later.

Police said they have warned the public before to exercise caution as there have been a number of water-related accidents there.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

20 Comments
Login to comment

Parents not watching again, Japan has this illusion of "it wont happen to me"... same deal with seat belts.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Sad loss. Just read the news from back home, a 15yr old saved a Mazedonian from drowning.

Glad all our children can swim and are trained in basic rescue. 1km swim, etc.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Even kids who can swim need monitoring near water. It's too easy for them to get themselves in trouble with sometimes dire consequences. Shame the parents didn't heed the warnings.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I feel just terrible for the parents. My heart and prayers are with them. NOTHING is worse than losing your child. Nothing.

My family and I are going away this weekend for camping and BBQ next to a river. I'll have to watch my boy like a hawk.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Awful, heartbreaking stuff.

Parents not watching again, Japan has this illusion of "it wont happen to me"... same deal with seat belts.

Not just Japan, though. I had the misfortune, many years back, to be present at a series of inquests in my home country and that particular day; all 3 were drownings. One of a small child who was left unattended by a neighbour for all of 2 mins. She was distraught, as all in attendance were.

I started at 1-year-old taught by an uncle who was a naval deep sea diver. He threw me into the pool and I started swimming.

At that age, it's still almost second nature to an infant to adapt to a watery environment but I'm guessing it soon wares off? Certainly, at the age of 3 I was petrified of going into the sea. Didn't properly learn until I was around 10 or 11!

5 ( +6 / -1 )

teach your kids to swim

I've put both my kids in swimming lessons from a young age for this reason. Swimming is a life skill everyone should have.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Parents not watching again, Japan has this illusion of "it wont happen to me".

Whatever makes you think it's a Japan thing?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

The preventable deaths have started up again. Poor kid to have such neglectful parents. How on earth you could play in any rivers, or allow your kids near them, with this kind of weather we've been having is beyond me. Hot and humid as hell, yes, but torrential downpours, sudden storms, flash floods... you're crazy to step in a river.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The Parents must surely be devastated. Young Kids are quite mobile, and often dash away at a moments notice, and when it comes to rivers - Swimming in a River is much different from a Swimming pool, so who knows if the Kid could swim or not, it may not even have mattered. Unfortunately, Parents really do need to be totally vigilant, probably overly protective of their Kids when going out with them, doing so sadly does not offer much time for chit-chat with Friends and other Family members.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@zichi - throwing kids into pools is not going to be suitable for all, potentially leading to the Child being forever afraid of going near Water. Indeed, that action, could be nowadays considered as Child abuse.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I taught mine to swim myself....

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Why didnt they do Mouth to Mouth heart massage etc before taking him to hospital?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@zichi - have you ever swam within a River in a Strong current, or perhaps in the Sea within a rip-tide ? ( I have done both, and I can tell you, it really isn't fun for a relatively fit Adult, let alone a small Child.)

Japan is surrounded by Water - so yes, learning to swim is great for enjoyment, but there are also basic things that can't be taught in your usual swimming lesson - such as telling where the fast current is within a river - or even estimating how deep it is, or what the bottom material may be like, let alone the bankside whether its safe or not to walk along close to the waters edge. A lot of Countryside folk learn this, and pass the info on to their Families as a matter of course, though Townies are oblivious to some of these less apparent dangers. No matter how good a swimmer you are, you can get caught out.

Bottom line, Waters pose danger, caution needs to be heightened by Parents when near to such danger with Kids (even not their own), just as they would do so (I hope) when playing around near fireworks, or a bonfire, or even a busy Road.

Being a Parent, is never easy, and the ultimate price, is making a mistake that costs the Life of the one you were there to protect. There are simply no words that can he said here, after that matter, this is something the Parents involved, will be questioning for the rest of their lives - "What if we did that.. would he still have been alive... ?" ... It's a terrible situation for them.

Were there signs advising people of the Dangers ? (Police say they warned people.. but there's no mention of how). Were there roped off areas where the places were deemed unsafe ?

The area is a popular barbecue and campground destination.

This would suggest, that the local City prefecture, designated the area as such. If that were the case, then they have a responsibility to ensure the safety of those going there. I hope something is done to increase the safety of this area that has been drawn to the Police as a danger spot.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

And for all those who wish to through your kids into water in order to teach them to swim. Go ahead - your Genome really doesn't deserve to be propagated, so best you end it yourself - or simply take contraceptives and avoid the Child Abuse charges/Murder rap.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

through -- throw

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Lots of kiddies start swimming lessons early in Japan, but being able to swim in 3' of water in an indoor pool doesn't necessarily mean the child is safe in the current of a river or the sea.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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