68-year-old woman arrested for attempted murder of 74-year-old husband

Not a good excuse. Being drunk would have been better.

old age is tough, caring for another old person intently in your old age would be tougher, can only guess what this old women had to go through, but none the less she should not have tried to murder the old man. She should have been able to seek help from the hospital or health service or he should have been in an old folks home.

The system here is terribly deficient in caring for the old and something needs to be done pretty smartly, it is a disgrace !!

Wow, I feel sorry for the husband. If he was only bedridden, it must be devastating to know that your wife, the only one he trusted, tried to kill you.

@ExportExpert. I entirely agree with your post. It is a tragedy for all concerned. If we were in the same situation how many of us can put our hand on our heart and say we wouldnt do the same thing? We do not know the mental state of Michiyo. Very sad indeed. There but for the grace of God go I.

Gurukun, trust, ur talking about the same man that cheated on her all those years, was never around, turned her to a cooking and cleaning and childcaring slave, and ive heard it a million times from my oba chan students. They stay because of culture. I wish they could get divorced. But they are too old for that. The young generation will all be divorced by 40 count on it, and we wont have these murders, not as many at least.

As the current state of aged care is expensive and varies greatly in quality, If you are rich enough to receive any help at all. I would expect to see more and more stories of this nature. Death with dignity might be a topic worth raising.

his life has been saved luckily or otherwise?

Is it possible that he asked her to do it?

There are many murder like this case sadly. She doesn't want to kill him, but she doesn't take care of him any more either, I guess. Because of an aging society, Japan is short of care taker. There is system of nursing and most of people pay a pension for nursing. If she had used this system, this might not happened. Or if she has used this, system the issue is the problem of this system.

Why oh why do these people always try to use a rope or such object to strangle old people. 74 years and bed ridden, just catch him asleep, pinch the nostrils and cover the mouth for 3 or 4 minutes and wait about an hour before calling for EMS. The guy was bed ridden before and now probably has brain damage to boot......real quality of life.........oh yeah, no wife to look after him anymore.

There is going to be a lot more of this to come - though I expect it will be adult children killing their 90 year old parents. Japan needs to come to grips with this issue and start building some homes for these people.

I would have asked my to kill me if i were in such situation

These old people are getting crazier and crazier! Kowaii ne!

I feel really sorry for this man. To have someone that you are supposed to be able to trust turn on you. It's heartbreaking.

And ExportExpert-- I don't consider 68 to be old age at all! It's not much longer before I near that mark, and I don't feel like I've even begun to live!

Poor woman will probably hope to go to jail for a rest, but she'll probably get a suspended sentence and be sent home to look after him. And end up doing herself in instead, because they won't get any support or assistance.

There aren't enough details, but the woman needed help of some kind - social services, etc. If you've never done it, caring for another person (on your own maybe), particularly someone bedridden and all that that entails (washing, toilet, feeding, doctor's appointments, medications, cheering up, etc.) can be exhausting physically, mentally, and emotionally. Maybe you can't imagine how it wears you down. It's hard enough if you love the person, much more difficult if you are doing it only because you must (social, family, or financial pressure). Even in countries where there is support for caregivers, many don't seek it out for a variety of reasons. We need to be more mindful of those who need care and those who give it. Surely, most of us will be in one situation or the other someday.

I agree that this problem will only get worse, but what do you guys suggest we do in a not so expensive way ? Not challenging anyone, just wondering how it's handled back in your country if anyone wants to share their experiences.

"J government should handle this" is an easy answer but nobody wants to pay any more tax and governments aren't always efficient.

Feeling sorry for this Old couple.

This story actually made me teary.

My husband is 12 years older than me. I remember him asking me if I would stick around when he got old and if he was incapacitated. I said ''of course''! I asked him why he asked me such strange questions and he told me his first wife said that if he were to get too sick ,she would stick him in an old age home.

I just can't imagine hurting my husband for any reason. My parents, who are both in 80 years old have been to hell and back including my father's battle with prostate cancer. Seeing my mom care for my dad and doting on him , really taught me what it was to be a good wife.

In Michiyo's case, perhaps she didn't have the support or coping skills to deal with her sick husband. It's sad that she felt that killing her husband was her way out. How desperate must she have felt that she would rather face life behind bars than deal with him.

I hope ,that in the event that my husband (heaven forbid), that I will be able to care for him properly and have him with me until the end.

Am I the only one who is disturbed about the fact that everyone feels sorry for a woman who tried to kill her husband? JT is getting weirder. A young woman kills her baby and people blame society, the government, and the husband who didn't help her. An old woman tries to kill her husband and people blame society, the government, and one even tried to talk about adulterous, slave-driving husbands.

How about this for a change. Citizens, don't kill people! (Even if you are tired, worn out, depressed, or ..... too embarrassed to tell someone you can't cope).

Strange how so many people in this country can muster the courage to go to the cops and say they've just killed their child/spouse/ parent, but a few hours/days/weeks before, they couldn't go to the city office/hospital/temple/church/friends and say they can't cope and need help.

Talk to someone instead of killing.

It is sad news to hear. I am sure it would be very hard to take care of a person who is bedridden, but he is still her husband she promised to live with to the end. She could have hired a parson who helps her husband instead. I think it is not rare to hear this kind of case in Japan. Many people are suffering from the stress of taking care of bedridden people. And many of those people are over 60. Maybe Japan government should think a solution to the problem.

According to a public long-term care (LTC) insurance program, the benefits will include institutional care, respite care, day care, home help, visiting nurses, and loan of devices. Eligibility status will be classified into 6 levels that will be determined by assessment of functional and cognitive status.

This man is 74 years old, bedridden. It could be 要介護５(the heavies one). Even if the wife was healthy enough, the man could get some services (bathing, nurse visiting…). If the wife has mental problems, the husband could get home help (cleaning, cooking, laundry, grocery shopping…).

That ain't no excuse to try and kill him hire someone to help.