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Boy dies from heatstroke after being left in car; 1-yr-old boy also dies in car while dad plays pachinko

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The boy's mother was quoted by the officials as saying that she went to a nearby hospital at around 1:30 p.m. after handing her car keys to her son and telling him to come later, while leaving the windows closed and engine shut off.

Like did you ever take the time to teach your son how to get in and out of a locked car? How about leaving the windows open?

I'll bet when you left the car, it was still cool from when you used the ac until the engine shut off and thought, "oh he's fine".......

Poor kid, mother should suffer in kind, repeatedly!

-7 ( +5 / -12 )

Yeah, this isnt a typical case. the kid was older and in a position to get out of the vehicle or otherwise do something.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

I agree something is odd about this story. Plus, why isn't the headline about the one-year old who died in a car while the dad played pachinko for 2 hours?

8 ( +8 / -0 )

The boy probably fell asleep and died that way, if that's possible.

Looks like they need baby patrols at Pachinko parking lots. Darwin murder awards for these people.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

But, did the mother think to go and check on him? No, of course she didn't!

Also on Tuesday, police in Shizuoka Prefecture arrested a 25-year-old man whose 1-year-old son died in a car after being left for about two hours while the man was in a pachinko gaming parlor on July 8.

And, another Pachinko parlor death?

It is very common to see kids left in cars in Japan. I've heard people say, "It's ok because I left the engine running", which is not ok at all! Some people don't deserve to be parents!

3 ( +6 / -3 )

@Bungle and Jeff Lee - I agree. There must be more to this story!

I cannot imagine what this mother must be going through or what may have happened such that a 9 year old with the keys could not get out of the car. So sad

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Another thing off on the first case. She was visiting a "near by hospital". Why wait for an ambulance? Pick up the kid and carry him to the "near by hospital"!!!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

@Tokyo-Egnr

Also on Tuesday, police in Shizuoka Prefecture arrested a 25-year-old man whose 1-year-old son died in a car after being left for about two hours while the man was in a pachinko gaming parlor on July 8.

I don't get how people think it's okay to leave people in a car on a hot day. The 9 yr old story is off. 9 yrs old kids know how to do a hella lot. The boy had to have fallen asleep with the car off, but never woke up.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@Rex - Yes the case in Shizuoka is different as with the age of the child. The case in Shizuoka is inexcusable while this case is different. Probably best to get all of the information prior to passing judgment

6 ( +6 / -0 )

I do not see a different case, I just see both parents decided to take a convenient and easy route for them that caused the life of their child.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

never, ever leave your kids unattended. what was this mom thinking in the first place?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

How are you "trapped" inside a car when you are sitting there holding the car keys in your hand? It's not a far stretch of the imagination to believe a 9 year old knows how to open the car door to get in and out. I fault the mother, as there seems no reason to even bring your son with you to the hospital only to tell him to wait awhile before coming in - totally pointless.

As for the pachinko playing father, I hope the money you most likely lost playing such a stupid game was more special and important to you than your child. Firing squad panels should be convened in certain cases - this being one.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Not much in the way of understanding or imagination by many of the posters here.

Kids at 9 years old almost invariably do what they are told. If told to stay in the car, they will stay in the car. Most kids at that age will not know how to turn on the car, nor how to turn on the air conditioner. When it gets hot, most kids would likely not want to leave the car, having been told to stay in the car. By the time it gets to an extreme, they wouldn't be thinking clearly, or maybe wouldn't have had the energy to get out of the car.

This is an extremely sad story, but it's very doubtful that anything nefarious happened. It almost definitely a mistake that unfortunately resulted in the child's death.

The poor mother. This will likely destroy her.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I've never died of heatstroke, but it's but probably hard to know what's going on with yourself, especially if you're a kid.

Perhaps you just feel yourself getting hot, sweating, and then more and more drowsy and disoriented, unable to think clearly or move...like a frog being slowly boiled there's probably not a clear point where you think "oh I'm in a dangerous situation I have to do something about it NOW!"

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Every year we see these stories and the following year we see more of them. I feel sorry for kids who are born to parents that are this dumb, selfish or clueless. No matter what you are doing your child's safety should be your number one priority. We all make mistakes, but leaving your child in a locked car on a hot summer day is manslaughter or murder.

Poor kids.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

At the very least it is gross negligence resulting in death. In the pachinko case it is tantamount to manslaughter. Lock both parents up ASAP. THe notion from the pity party towards the woman that "she has suffered enough from the death" is ludicrous. Sounds like it's a relief for her.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Even if the car is locked, won't most doors open from the inside. He wasn't told to "stay" in the car, he was told to come in later, if she's telling the truth. My best guess is that he was being scolded, bad grades maybe, and the boy was too scared or too defiant to "come in later." If she's lying, then it was a form of punishment to sit in the hot car. Either way, stupid mother.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's likely that he was doing something in the car, playing a game or reading or the like, and the mother told him to come along when he was ready, and he fell asleep or passed out when it got hot inside. I wouldn't expect a 9 year old to be a good judge of how long it would be safe to stay in the car. The mother letting him wait in the car by himself is perfectly safe in milder weather, but she should have checked up on him.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Was the child-lock engaged?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The boy probably fell asleep and died that way, if that's possible.

This was my first guess. A kid can easily open the door if it is too hot. Also being in Nara on Monday, being indoors without an a/c was much hotter than it felt outside.

The 1 year old's case is just plain inexcusable and some idiots never learn though it has happened and been publicized several times.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I think Abbeyroad45's theory is likely.

The boy did not want to accompany his mother so she let him stay in the car for a while. I have a 9 year old son and he is happier in the car with a manga or tablet than being dragged around the supermarket etc. He thinks its a treat if we ever leave him in the house on his own (rusuban). Since the mother expected the boy to come, she left the car without the ac running and the windows closed, just as you would leave a car in the car park. Since the keys were in the car, it will have been locked not by the mother but from the inside by the boy, just as a kid may lock their bedroom door.

The pachinko case is much worse and as mentioned above, you have to question how many warnings some people need.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Leaving a 1 year old in a hot car during the summer is absolutely unforgivable. He should get life in prison because no one can claim ignorance on this. If you leave a small child in a hot car during the summer, he/she will die. In my opinion, this isn't even manslaughter or an accident, this is murder!

As for the 9 year, I agree with everyone here -it's really odd that a 9 year old couldn't let himself out of the car. I have a 9 year old, and although I have never left her in a car during the summer, I am pretty sure she could let herself out if things got too uncomfortably hot. Strange.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Most nine year olds have been driven around by their parents since they were knee high to a grasshopper. Of course they will have some familiarity with the interior workings of a car.

I have a 10 year old and an 8 year old, and neither of them would know how to start our car. And you are also ignoring the psychological barrier of a kid doing something they've never done before, such as starting a car. They don't know what happens when you start it, whether it will roll away etc. When I was a kid, I didn't know that just the electricity could be turned on, for the air conditioner only to be used, nor did I know how to start the car, nor what would happen with it if I did.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I always see kids in cars in the heat, usually in the back seat playing video games. But usually the engine is on or windows open. If the mother went to the hospital, maybe she was sick? Poor boy.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I taught my kid to start the car and unlock the doors when he was around 9 years of age

some parents are just too stupid to have kids.....

1 ( +1 / -0 )

She took care of him for 9 years & let him go in one days. Sad. RIP

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Having had heatstroke myself,

it must be particularly distressing for a young child to bear before death........

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Perhaps he fell asleep?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Pick up the kid and carry him to the "near by hospital"!!! yep that would be the common seance thing to do but in Japan taking a person to the hospital directly doesn't guarantee youll be seen by a doctor, many hospitals dont have the correct doctors on duty at certain times. Which is why Tokyo has one of the longest wait times in an Ambulance (about 50min from memory) as they drive around trying to find a hospital that accept their emergency patients, yes people are dyeing because of this inefficient BS.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

you don't need the keys to open a locked door from the inside!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Those who think that Japan is a country with hard working people without losing their culture and values are in a shock to see the carelessness of the people , who just leave their children in cars to shop and play games.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

She has been booked for manslaughter

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I might not know the whole story behind the 9 yr old boy but that mother has a choice. She can either take him with her or she can leave the car engine on.

7-11 yr old child may have developed their cognitive skills they still struggle in hypothetical concept and concrete problems surrounding them so if you think they are smart enough to get their selves out of the car, you are wrong. That poor kid don't even know that the heat would probably kill him if he fell asleep in that car.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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