Woman drowns trying to save son in Miyazaki

wow, fun day turned into sad day, RIP poor kids, loving/caring mom gone forever.

Bet Dad wishes he hadn't gone off on his own. Mother's love is the most powerful force on earth. RIP.

Really sad - and we see this kind of accidents happening a few times a year...

Mother's love is the most powerful force on earth

How about parents start actually looking after their children and then tragic events like this might cease to exist. Good that she try to save him, but he shouldn't have been in the way of danger in the first place.

neverknow, you don't sound like you have kids. Even the best parents can't watch their kids every action, every single minute of the day. Did you not fall down and bump your head as a kid? Were you never hurt? Did your parents coddle you and make you wear helmets or hold you every time there was a remote chance of getting hurt?

Prevention, prevention. It shocks me how badly behaved the Japanese are around water., Running on pool decks, lifeguards ignoring the pools and beaches, parents letting kids go out too far... Bi wonder drowning is such an issue here. More so when are ALL supposed to take swimming lessons at school. Shocking.

I can't believe some of you are blaming the parent in this case.... I am not even gonna waste my time explaining...

RIP to a loving mother. To those blaming the mother, this time you can't so I wouldn't. When you have kids and know the panic you feel on seeing one of them in danger you'll think back to your comments here and realize you're an idiot.

Children do take swimming lessons at school, but no Japanese pool I have ever been in has had a deep end. This means that when children suddenly find they are out of their depth they panic, since they are used to being able to touch the bottom any time they like.

I noticed this with my own son: he is quite a good swimmer and likes the sea. But when we went snorkeling the first time and the water was deep he was extremely nervous.

We need pools with deep ends and swimming lessons wearing trousers and shirts. This will build confidence and hopefully reduce the number of drownings.

No life guard in that resort>????????????? is it a beach resort?????

Isn't this invariably the case, the rescuer ends up on the morticians slab and the initial victim survives the incident?

Pretty sad story, however, if Japanese parents and kids actually had basic water confidence skills, this and many other similar incidents could be avoided.

How about parents start actually looking after their children and then tragic events like this might cease to exist. Good that she try to save him, but he shouldn't have been in the way of danger in the first place.

She was absolutely heroic and deserves no blame whatsoever.

I have two boys and it's hard as heck to keep an eye on them all the time. And even when you say stop, they keep going.

I wonder if this was actually in Toi Misaki. I've been there three times and it's a bit scary.

Educate and try to prevent as much as you like, people die in accidents all the time.

Very sad. RIP, mum.

sad but you shouldn't go to the ocean if you're not prepared.

fds-how do you know they weren't prepared?

she have done better to keep a cool head.

I can imagine that the majority of the parents on this board would have done the same thing. To protect your child from danger, even if it endangers yourself, is a high priority. The sad thing is, this could happen to any one of us on our visits out.

Prevention, prevention. It shocks me how badly behaved the Japanese are around water.

While this may be true, the story gives away very little about how the boy ended up in the water.

Agree with Scrote's post about no deep ends in pools. As the boy was able to get out of the water himself in the end, it does look like the problem here was probably panic, not an inability to swim.

the mother should be commended for trying to save her own child. accidents happen, even with precautions in place. we were not there, so why put blame? would blaming help anyway? she's gone now unfortunately. poor boys watched their own mother die. how very sad. RIP brave mother.

This mother is a beutiful being.

To get my anger out, I would like to scream and yell at the father. Why did he leave them and go fishing. Was he selfishly trying to enjoy the holiday on his own. Well, I really don't know what went on and what the facts are.

8 and 10 year old kids are curious and mischievous and it is not easy to control them. Just yesterday an incident that happened. 2 young ones of one family and another one with his dad, literally made all of us in the compartment go nuts. They were so fidgety and restless and the it was so hard to control them. Parenthood is not easy and if you are not ready for it you should not take that responsibilty.

Those who criticised the mother is obviously still single or had neglected their child. Every parents love their child. I hope this eldest son will understand and remember how his mother had perished for him.

womanforwomen - screaming at the father in this situation is pretty asinine, don't you think? He was probably few tens of meters away and by the time he returned everything was finished.

Why would this make him such bad father and how do you conclude he is selfish and such, without even knowing them and being there?

AT LEAST he brought his family out for a nice picnic in the nature...

ebisen, just my womanly first reaction. Sorry, the missing question marks makes my post unclear.

Unbelievable how cynical people are on this site. This could have happened anywhere. I hope the kid isn't weighed down by guilt and the family is able to move on to happier times.

Very tragic, and I honestly believe no one is at fault here. Why wouldn`t the Dad go off and fish? Maybe the mother was due to go off on a walk by herself after he came back. Maybe she had already been. Maybe they were taking it in turns to shoulder the parental responsibility and have a quiet break by themselves. Anyone with two boys (or even one boy!) will know how hard they are to keep an eye on all the time.

Neglect would have been letting the boys go off by themselves with no supervision.

Sometimes - even in Japan - a tragic accident is just that - a tragic accident.

"Sometimes - even in Japan - a tragic accident is just that - a tragic accident."

Exactly, this woman died trying to save her son, who had gotten into difficulty when swimming. Why do some people try their best to read other information into this story? The parents were neglecting their kids? Japanese schools' swimming lessons/pools are sub-par?

People, it was an accident, nothing more, nothing less. I hope this boy can get over this terrible event.

They teach them how to swim but they don't teach them how to tread water. When the kids are out of their depth and catch touch the bottom they panic. If they knew how to tread water they wouldn't. RIP to the mother. Not blaming anyone but i have kids and i sure as heck wouldn't let them play on the rocky shore. Hindsight is better than foresight but trying to see what danger lays ahead is common sense. 10 and 8 year old on a rocky shore at the beach is not common sense.

tragic. may she RIP.

What a very sad story. My heart goes out to the boys and the father. RIP brave mother.

To get my anger out, I would like to scream and yell at the father. Why did he leave them and go fishing.

I knew it was only a matter of time before someone on this board blamed the father. Anti-male sexism is such an acceptable form of bias in our society.

With all the horror stories of women out there mutilitating, abusing, and murdering their own children these days, I commend this woman. She reacted with the instinct to save her child, a protective instinct only found in "mothers". My heart truly goes out to the family. No doubt they are suffering right now.

Rocky shores are extremely dangerous; slippery surface, deep water, strong currents and sharp rocky edges...even a competent swimmer can easily get in trouble there. Seasoned fishermen often get killed fishing off rocks every year... the kids shouldn't have been there, neither the mother. May the brave mother RIP - at least her son is safe.

Hypothetical question? You're a parent (I'm a dad) and the house is on fire with your kids asleep inside, what do you do? I would go in to try and get them out. To hell with what my happen to me. The mother is a hero.

She died a hero. Any parent worth their salt would do the same.

her oldest son --> elder

Because she only has two.

Seasoned fishermen often get killed fishing off rocks every year

Many of them because they can't swim in the first place.

A teenager died at a beach two weeks ago up here in Hokkaido. All the beaches had the ropes out at waist level.

With all the horror stories of women out there mutilitating, abusing, and murdering their own children these days, I commend this woman. She reacted with the instinct to save her child, a protective instinct only found in "mothers". My heart truly goes out to the family. No doubt they are suffering right now.

That was also the first thing that came to my mind. I still remember the story of the suicide parents who also took their child's life with them, a little while ago. This woman is a true mother, RIP. My sympathy to the family. I hope the elder son does not get drowned in feeling guilty, poor guy. It was an accident indeed... a very tragic one...

Maybe the mother was due to go off on a walk by herself after he came back. Maybe she had already been. Maybe...

Maybe some people are speculating too much, to make up for what is not in the news article. I wonder why it is necessary to guess what happened. We won't know what happened unless a competent reporter tells us, but by tomorrow this reporter will be cranking out some other sketch of tragedy for you to wonder about.

Really sad - and we see this kind of accidents happening a few times a year...

Yeah, this is a norm of the world though. Nothing new, nothing special, and there is nothing we can do to stop them. We only only be careful.

To get my anger out, I would like to scream and yell at the father. Why did he leave them and go fishing. Was he selfishly trying to enjoy the holiday on his own. Well, I really don't know what went on and what the facts are.

This is an absolutely normal activity. I mean, they might have switched later on and let the wife go shopping when it was the dad's turn to play. Those who blindly place blame are fools.

God bless you brave mother! May your family never forget your love!

Sad story. I just got back from Izu couple weeks ago. Waves were nice so they didn't let anyone swim. The lifeguards chased me all day telling me to come in. I let them know that the only way for people to learn is to come out and try. I outswam 4 lifeguards until I finally got bored of talking to these guys and came in. It's the same every year. They don't allow people to swim so no one learns. It makes me very sad to read articles like this. -Surfer

This kid is going to have to grow up knowing his mother died trying to save him, thats something you can never repay back. This mother was a hero.

What a horrible, horrible way to die! Now, this father, who enjoyed fishing so much will have to live on knowing that if maybe, he would have involved his family in his love of fishing, the children would not have been bored, go on to a dangerous rocky cliff, fall into the ocean and then have his wife panic. I am a man, a husband and a father, and I feel so sorry for this poor woman. May she rest in peace. PS Azzassa, when the life guards rescue your lifeless body one day, let's see what your friends and family will say then. Some people just never learn.

what a brave mother.. :(

This is sad. RIP, Hiromi Miyata.

Many of them because they can't swim in the first place.

A teenager died at a beach two weeks ago up here in Hokkaido. All the beaches had the ropes out at waist level.

well u can say that again here in my place a young college girl died after she exhausted in a swimming pool.

but I have to admit, this what I call a true "Mother"... I salut her for her bravery though had only she would think 4 second more she should have screamed first than do the jumpin.. but who knows the real condition any way.