Japanese boy dies after being pulled from water in Australia

This is an enormous entry fee free swimming pool many times larger than the largest 千人風呂 right in the heart of the city. In Japan, if such a thing existed (which it doesn’t) it would be surrounded by a fence, cost many yen to get in, be drowned in syrupy muzak and subject to regular bullhorn driven exhortations to empty out every so often. Japanese who visit there must be dazed by such open largesse.

Aww what a sad story. Poor family. Christmas is always going to be heavy for them.

oyatoi: The story says he was swimming at a public lagoon not a public pool.

and where the hell were the parents? I've never seen a 7 year old I'd let swim unaccompanied in a pool.

Sounds like the lifeguards failed to do their jobs properly. Someone should get fired.

Gotta love the Age of Intolerance, where the screams for someone’s head come without even knowing whether they were negligent.

Which therefore proves...?

And you’ve determined it wasn’t a systematic error but rather a human error by virtue of...?

Blaming the lifeguards is a cop out, the parents always have the responsibility of care. Two questions? Had the kid ever swam in water deeper than himself? What were his parents doing?

Japanese pools don't encourage swimming as they are typically very shallow.

RIP but people blaming the lifeguards are way off base. They aren't able to monitor every swimmer all the time.

This is a man-made lagoon. It is a very popular attraction in Cairns. It is also quite a large lagoon. It is the middle of summer in Cairns and you can be sure there were many people swimming in it at the time of this boy’s drowning. It is popular because the is the season for deadly jellyfish in Cairns. One should not point blame at the lifeguards without knowing any specific details of the lagoon or how the boy drowned. I also believe the parents should have been watching him

I was a surf livesaver for twenty years in Australia, five years on the Gold Coast. I cannot count the amount of foreign tourists who need to be pulled from the surf after getting into trouble. Usually, they get into trouble by ignoring the instructions of lifesavers and swimming in unpatrolled areas. From my experience, the vast majority of those rescued were foreign tourists, many of which were Japanese. Most foreign tourists, including Japanese do not have the knowledge or skills to be frolicking in the surf. And many do not have basic swim training to be frolicking in a pool, especially unsupervised children.

Being a GOOD parent is hard work and a lot of sacrifice. It means stopping what you are doing or not doing what you want and watching your child. It is important to be close and to watch and talk with them. Or even swim or play with them even when you don't want to do it. Children need to be protected from themselves, other people, animals, dangerous situations and from their own sense of adventure or curiosity. They need a parent to protect them or rescue them when they get into trouble.

Hopefully, people who post here will follow this advice.

watched a lifesaver documentary of a day in life of a beach in Auckland, West Coast. 126 rescues by the volunteers. Most were asian who don't know what rips and undertows are, and only usually swim in pools. some were swimming outside the flags.

Tourists beware. Aussie kids do swimming lessons in the ocean, ( at least they used to, been here for a while! ) are taught what to do in rips and are surf smart. If you aren’t local don’t be fooled thinking it’s totally safe for all kids. Very sad. Ki o tsuketekudasai. It’s not patrolled the way they do in Japan .

Way off base? Really? The job description is kinda built into the name of the position.

They are there to help swimmers in trouble. If they aren't called, they can't assist. A seven year old shouldn't be swimming alone nad it's not the lifeguards job to supervise each individual swimmer. So it's sadly a lapse of judgement by the parents, no one else and to blame others is a cheap shot.

Lifesavers are there to help people, but they cannot help people who won’t help themselves. They are not babysitters or magicians. If people confuse their ambitions and capabilities and leave their children unsupervised in the water, it is not the fault of the lifesaver.

Blaming lifesavers is a total disgrace. They risk their lives. Most are volunteers like my niece. They also can die. The sea can be very dangerous. They are like fire persons, the unsung heroes.

Based on my experience at beaches on the Japan Sea, its not so uncommon for Japanese parents to not bother going into the sea with their kids. I threaten mine with huge repercussions if they run off and go in by themselves, or if my older ones go too far away from the younger one. I'd rather be a killjoy than chance anything.

Some mothers with children don't even bother changing into swimsuits. They let their kids in the water but clearly have no intention of going in themselves.

"got into trouble" is to wide.

Pulled under by undertow? Stung by a Jellyfish and went into shock? Drifted out to far panicked and drowned?

I feel for the parents and sadden for the loss of life. And at Chritmas time. Heart breaking story.

Any Child dying will usually leave a family being distraught. Laying the blame upon them at this time, is something that we can't really do given the lack of information. They themselves will be the ones living with this Tragedy - that surely must be, the most painful of all things, and with the loose comments made by others here (& elsewhere), only just add further insult & pain to them.

I simply feel sorry for the Family, what should have been a happy year end Holiday together, turned into a disaster for them. What more can be said ?