In Japan, rising numbers of parents are harming their children. Why?
- A spate of shocking attacks on youngsters by their carers has left Japan struggling to comprehend the reasons in a society known for its low crime rate
- The culture of competition among mothers and breakdown of traditional living arrangements have been blamed, but as one expert says, ‘it’s complicated’
When police responding to an emergency call arrived at the Osaka home of Kazuya Ogawa on the evening of August 30, they were confronted with three bodies. Ogawa’s wife was lying on the floor in the bedroom of their two daughters, Risa, aged five, and Juri, three. All had sustained serious stab wounds.
The two girls were rushed to hospital but were later pronounced dead. Ogawa’s 40-year-old wife underwent treatment for knife wounds to her abdomen and was reported to be in a stable condition.
Given the circumstances – there were no signs of forced entry into the home and nothing had been stolen – police concluded that the mother stabbed the two children to death and then tried to commit suicide. Authorities said they were waiting for the woman to recover from her injuries before questioning her.
On September 2, police in the town of Eiheiji-cho, in Fukui prefecture, arrested 46-year-old Yoko Nakagawa for killing her daughter, Maki, aged 13, by strangling her with a cord. Police also found the body of Nakagawa’s husband, Makoto, who had hanged himself in the family home. She told police that she and her husband had planned to kill themselves after killing Maki but that she could not go through with it.