Clare Yoshida comments

The thing that horrifies me to see is conbini customers being handed their newly-bought single snack in a plastic bag, they walk a metre towards the exit, take their snack out the bag and bin it right there. Absolutely no second thought from the customer or the staff. There is something SERIOUSLY wrong with that.

She paid to store the body in station locker for 4+ years?! Assuming 300yen per day that’s at least 438,000 yen. Utterly baffling behaviour.

You DO NOT put a young child in the front passenger seat of a car. He should have been in the back, preferably rearfacing and he would have survived.

You can’t fault the Dad though, you shouldn’t swerve for animals and stopping was stupid but in the moment when there’s no time to think you can do mad things.

It's really nice to read some positive news here. Go Hida City, make the most of it!

How did it take 28 visits for services to call the police?

I always use squat toilets to pee because I don't want to sit where others have sat, so because I don't have to lay down a seat cover with tp it's faster. One thing I will say is having to use a squat toilet when you're heavily pregnant because there's no other choice in a park or at a campsite is utterly, utterly uncomfortable:(

A man wore one at a kids' Hallowe'en party I attended in Kobe last month. He really nailed the hand gestures, it was hilarious!

Any sensible person would have called an ambulance, who dumps the body after an accident? Something clearly sinister happened. Disgusting 'parents'.

I worry that if the boy ever wakes up the damage of being in a coma during those formative years will be irreperable. There's a chance he may never learn to speak, walk or eat correctly because of the total loss of sensory input during such crucial formative years, emotional and social development notwithstanding :( Absolutely appauling that it took an entire year to jail the woman too. Despicable.

My Japanese husband says this'll just lead to people working in the dark past 8pm, it won't change anything. Nice to see something happening even if it's just 'on paper'.

I just hope the little boy fully recovers and is never allowed to see that monster again.

Gaman & shoganai are two massive problems here

Nailed the problem right there.

But taxi drivers in Japan open the passenger door with a button. Why did the taxi driver not notice he was naked before letting him in?

They should just put up signs banning players and maybe use the money from the extra footfall to have a couple of security guards wondering around. The rush will die down soon anyway, geez the game's not been out a week yet.

@MsDelicious No the spots aren't randomly generated, they were plotted by players all over the world of the company that makes Pokemon Go's other game, Ingress.

@sensei258 If the baby had colic nothing stops them crying when they get going. Babies with colic can cry for hours every day with no known medical reason. Also the mother may have been suffering from post partum depression which can make you do crazy things. I have in-Laws living down the road and still feel it's difficult to ask for help. The mother needs help. So glad little baby's okay.

Well we all know the population is declining so this is either a decrease in nursery positions or the poor economy forcing more women to have to go back to work. Either way, Abe-san what are you doing about it!?

Yes, yes of course kids are better off raised at home but when the economy stinks and one income isn't enough to support a family what do you do!? It's difficult enough having to work and missing your child without ignoramuses commenting that they should 'just stay home'. If it were that simple we wouldn't need daycare, duh.

Devastating :'( Hopefully just a tragic accident.

@The Womp Hit by four trucks and declared dead at the hospital?

Death isn't declared until they are assessed and determined to be dead by a doctor even if it's pretty obvious the person is dead.

Oh dear, most likely an argument and she got out but what an idiotic thing to be walking on the Shin-Meishin. I've driven that route plenty of times, you're going so fast and at night in the dark you really wouldn't see a person unless they're wearing some reflective gear.

And I think some people are confused imagining she was walking and four trucks each hit her separately, whereas what would have happened is one truck hit her and three more trucks driving closely behind the first plowed into each other giving more momentum to the crash.

Can't imagine the grief the wife must be going through.. devastating. Agree with life vests though.

This is such a stupid way to encourage more babies. How about increasing daycare, paid maternity leave and more support money for expensive schools and uniforms!?

I remember this story, RIP little Misora-chan. The sad thing is a 2-week old just sleeps all the time anyway, you just feed them and they pass out asleep; plenty of time for video games if you really have to play. Such shitty selfish parents, 3-4 years isn't enough.

Who takes a 4-year old to a pachinko parlour?

Did the helicopters not use thermal cameras? How have they not found him yet!? He should have found a few puddles to drink if it rained, and while he'd be starving but he should still be alive. Poor boy must be terrified. Sure throwing rocks is extremely naughty but what an utterly idiotic punishment.

So sad :(

Babies don't refuse to drink milk, it's the most basic of instinct human babies have. There can be issues latching onto the breast or feeding from a bottle though, in which case you do everything you can including spoonfeeding a baby formula or I dunno, say, taking it to see a doctor!?

I'm only speculating, but if the baby wasn't known to be missing it could have been born without medical supervision or checkups in which case it could have suffered from IUGR or some other condition preventing feeding, in which case again, take it to a doctor! RIP little baby..

Gave birth Autumn '15 in Tokyo and my experience wasn't like this. The Japanese father had a full view of everything, no sheet hiding the doctor, didn't bring my own towels or rent pyjamas, and I was praised when I was pushing and shouting. I think a lot of this is old-timey Japan.

When will this child-killing end!?

She probably has postpartum depression. It's a very real disorder, the hormone crash after birth is a mindf*** and a young mother with little support and education is easily suceptible. Japan should do more midwife postpartum visits to check n new mothers. The first few weeks are sooo hard and you're not yourself. I didn't have any home visit post partum here which surprised me.

That warming came nice and early! I had time to grab my baby, check the gas conro was off then crouch in a doorway with my baby before it hit. Very impressed!!

Burning Bush how long have you lived here? Pretty sure most parents here (myself included) are scratching a living and a BMW or brand bag is the last things on our minds.

Plus in the 50s and 60s a sole breadwinner could support the entire family and daycare wasn't needed. It is now.