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Newborn girl dies after being left in bicycle basket in Tokyo

31 Comments

A newborn girl died on Monday after being left in the front basket of a bicycle parked outside a home in Itabashi Ward, police said Tuesday. A nearby resident noticed the infant around 6.30 a.m. and called police. The baby girl, wrapped in a towel, was rushed to hospital and resumed breathing at one point, but was pronounced dead Monday evening.

Police said that the autopsy determined the cause of death to be extremely low body temperature. Police added that the outside temperature in the neighborhood dropped to about 4 degrees Monday morning, and it was raining.

© News reports

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31 Comments
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What is going on in this sick country? Had the parent(s) never heard of the baby hatch? I hope they catch the swine.

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This is such a sad and disgusting news! How can anybody leave a little baby girl out in the cold rain to die! RIP little baby girl!

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What is going on in this sick country?

Uh...the whole country is not sick because of this incident. Calm down and take a breath, mkay?

Had the parent(s) never heard of the baby hatch?

Last I heard, there was only one and it was not in Tokyo.

Anyway, very sad.

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Shows an obvious need for a few more baby hatches near major centers of population. And maybe more support for women who decide they can't keep their babies (for whatever reason.)

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Anyone still against the baby-hatches?

It seems pretty clear to me that MORE are needed (baby-hatches, in case I have to spell that out).

Very sad incident.

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So sad! How could anyone leave a new-born child to freeze to death? Hope they catch the person responsible and give them a hell of a flogging.

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the girl that gave birth was obviously scared and confused beyond the ability to think correctly. she could have easily killed the baby (aborted it) at any time but obviously wanted to give it a chance. the baby was wrapped in a towel to keep it warm. my heart goes out to her and the flogging belongs to her parents and friends that failed to support her and be connected enough to know what was going on in her life. with a population density as high as it is here in Japan it becomes easier and easier to marginalize people that fail in any way as there are so many more in proximity that fulfill our needs. society is wasting it's greatest resource by letting these people fall thru the cracks. R.I.P. baby doe and I hope this girl can find the help that she needs.

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It is so very unbelievable that someone could leave a baby out in the cold to die......how cruel, heartless he/she is. I'm so upset to read this news. I hope Japan would focus more effort into child protection law or some temples/shrines/churches could help out with the situation, which could be increasing in the future considering the present economic situation too.

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Why isn't this in the CRIME section - looks like murder to me.

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Not murder. Infanticide. As in, there are mitigating circumstances.

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Yeah. Mitigating circumstances, like the mother is a sicko retard who should be hung. Yes this happens all around the world, sickos are everywhere. no baby hatch in Tokyo, why not use common sense, put the newborn near a koban then call 110... if she was gonna give this little one a chance at life that's what should have been done. there is no excuse, no possible way the sicko mother can be defended, to all the tards who scream "maybe this maybe that...." I hope you see the error in your thinking. winter=cold, newborn=weak, helpless. winter&unprotected newborn=infantpopsicle. she deserves no mercy. RIP little one.

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And what about the parents? Does the police know who they are?

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" And what about the parents? "

Most likely there are no parents, just a freaked out pregnant teenager. What a sad story.

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hakujinsensei, all fine and well but if one is brought up, knowing that live is sacred then this would not happen so much. Confused or not, leave the baby at a conbini or inside an empty koban. R.I.P little baby

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The reason, I'm sure, that this idiot didn't leave the poor little girl in an empty koban or a convenience store is that most have surveillance cameras.

BUT there are a million other places better than a bicycle basket out in the cold winter rain to leave a precious little newborn.

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knowing that live is sacred then this would not happen

Thats the problem, in japan I dont think life is that sacred or else we wouldnt see these types of crimes every day. Not just with children but even adults.

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I get that people are saying that we dont know all the circumstances, that maybe the mother needs help, etc etc etc. But Im sorry, there really IS no excuse. If you are old enough to get pregnant, and deliver a baby you are old enough to know that leaving it outside in the cold and rain is going to do serious damage. Leaving it anywhere other than a place where it can get the immediate help it needs is nothing short of murder really. Even my 5 year old daughter would know that.

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Not murder. Infanticide. As in, there are mitigating circumstances.

There are or you think there might be "mitigating circumstances"? How could you possibly know at this stage in the procedings? You seem to assume too much.

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This is a crime, she had several months to come up with a plan and this is the best she could do??? Baby hatches, Hospital, anything, but a basket of a bicycle? Finding it hard to show much sympathy im afraid.

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As a paerent of 3 and soon to be a parent of four, I can't believe that people can be so heartless and cruel to do such a thing.

the girl that gave birth was obviously scared and confused beyond the ability to think correctly. she could have easily killed the baby (aborted it) at any time but obviously wanted to give it a chance. the baby was wrapped in a towel to keep it warm. my heart goes out to her

Hakujinsensei, please don't give me that crap. If she cared or wanted to help this child, she should put the baby up for adoption. Just because she is overwhelmed, the baby shouldn't have to pay the consequence with her life. For peets sakle it was 4 degrees and a blanket alone doesn't help.

I hope this girl can find the help that she needs.

What happened here is a crime. It may not be murder, but it is manslaughter. I hope the parents of the baby (boththe father and mother) get the jail sentence that they deserve. Maybe whilst in jail, they can think through on what a despicable act it is that they have done.

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Magpie -

I hope the parents of the baby (boththe father and mother) get the jail sentence that they deserve. Maybe whilst in jail, they can think through on what a despicable act it is that they have done.

How do you know that father (even if he knows he is/was the father of this baby, which we don't know) was complicit in this crime?

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Sometimes reading the comments are better than reading the report.

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I agree with bugger ( 11:44 ).

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I don't understand why people can be so cruel. I am not a dog or cat lover but I certainly do not treat them as this child was treated.

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I hate stories like this. Feels like I get stabbed in the heart every time I read one. I'll make sure all my children will be real well taken care of. Poor baby...

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reading this story makes me want to cry.

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everyone is metally damaged to some extent, but i think regardless, one should be held accountable for their actions or shouldnt be allowed to be a part of society.

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@yawmin, unfortunately world society (not just Japan) is more adept at trying to pass off the responsibility on to others. This is just another sad case in the sea of falling social morality and the lack of people being more considerate and willing to help others.

In spite of the fact this child died, the mother apparantly did try to leave the child in as best care as she felt at the moment. So she did have some heart, just not the common sense to do better...Sad and sickening.

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Just thin of all those people who WANT to get pregnant and raise families ...they would have loved to own that little newborn...it's so sad and such a waste of life...

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Nearly everyone seems angry at the mother of this poor child but their has to have been a father and we don't know his involvement if any. Men have a responsibility to the children they bring into his world but are too often forgiven for neglecting it. Now this is just hearsay and conjecture but as far as we know the mother could be died in an apartment from blood loss and the father distraught and scared abandons his child. But few people seem to think that because women are only expected to take sole responsibility for child rearing.

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Well Rigs83 if they had a picture of the bike that could give you some clues.. most men tend to have a boyish looking bike where as a woman tends to have a girlish bike. But regardless of who was at fault I still can't believe someone would do such a think. Hopefully the police will do DNA testing, track down both parents and find out who is to blame.

HonestDictator, had the mother (or father) really made effort, they would have either put the baby under cover to protect from the rain or left the baby at a hospital. Any idiot could have known what the weather for the past week has been like, especially in Japan. This person simply left the baby walked off...

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