Couple arrested for locking up 6-year-old boy in bathroom

Oh my god .... what a junk mother

Unbelievable, locked all the children up so they could go to Pachinko...this defies belief.

Good on the neighbours for calling the cops.

Alas, it is a safe bet that the child welfare authorities will file this away not follow up on it.

it is a safe bet that the child welfare authorities will file this away not follow up on it.

No it's not.

It's a bad enough excuse saying they were locked up, whilst they went out to pachinko, but why was the boy bruised and naked? These sickos need the social services to take the kids into care.

Scumbags !

locked up in the bath again about a month ago and they could hear him saying “It’s cold”

Please let there be karma, please let there be karma. These people really deserve a taste of it.

i can't believe these kinds of people.. we should be allowed to kill them without due process

no, papi, there needs to be more than just karma. there needs to be retribution. a few bruises and solitary confinement is too nice a punishment for these roaches.

and willib, really? come on, bro.

Child abuse : What a misery .

So there's all kinds of sympathy and understanding for a mother who kills her child, but none for those who only somewhat abuse them without serious injury. Where's the understanding and sympathy for these two? Maybe they were stressed out and needed pachinko as a release.

A 'Couple arrested for locking up 6-year-old boy in bathroom?'

Where was the boy's father that time?

Praise the neighbors for finally making a difference..now..police and or authorities concerned...it's your turn.

And people want to build casinos all over Japan. I'm usually a libertarian, but allowing gambling is a disaster for everyone except the owners. If it's not about money set a limit on stakes of under 100 yen or something, otherwise just get rid of all gambling completely. We don't allow cocaine or heroine, so why gambling? Why do we need it?

they could hear him saying “It’s cold” and calling for his father

Well done to the neighbours for reporting it!!

And well done to the boy FOR CALLING FOR HIS DADDY

He must be a real Godfather, just like me... :-D

I can understand that there are some people that don't want to deal with the great responsibility of raising or dealing with children because they want to live for themselves, live freely. They simply don't have kids, and I respect that. But if you are an adult that makes the decision to have a child and abuse the child because you want to have fun, you aren't an adult, nor are you a human being. How could you bear a child, and not have any love towards him/her? That is your offspring, your genes, the personification of the love you have/had for your significant other. I just can't wrap my head around how one could be so cruel to their own flesh and blood. If there are people that act like that towards their own children, I shudder to think how they treat friends, family, coworkers, or even complete strangers. Do these people even know what true love is? How disheartening...

And people want to build casinos all over Japan. I'm usually a libertarian, but allowing gambling is a disaster for everyone except the owners.

It's not the owners fault, but the people who can't control themselves. If not in a casino, they will probably find some other way to gamble or misuse their children as in this case. The issue is the man is not the boy's father, from my understanding of reading the report and he was crying for the father. Is the father no longer alive? Or is it a case of the mother taking the child away from the father as we have seen many times in Japan. Whatever the case, this is a sad story all around.

This was very wrong. The parents acted selfishly and irresponsibly. But what's up with baby-sitting situation in Japan? Kids are always abused and left alone, sometimes even in the car.

I'm sure the children's aunt, uncle or grandparents could've watched over them for a few hrs while the parents went out. Right? In CA, this was never a problem when we did the Vegas Run/Turn-around 2-3 time outta the year.

I saw some dislike comments in here but I'm not really good at commenting all the time. Well, it looks like the couple doesn't really show their love to the innocent boy after they locked him in the bathroom in order to go parchinko parlor. Argh, these couple really need social services to take the kids into care! Exactly they really need to learn how to do that! Yeah, the police believed that the boy was a victim of regular child abuse.

And well done to the boy FOR CALLING FOR HIS DADDY. He must be a real Godfather, just like me... :-D

The father was arrested along with the mother for abuse. The father is no hero in this story.

The father was arrested along with the mother for abuse. The father is no hero in this story

No, the guy is the mother's boy friend. Not the father. Maybe the boy was calling for his real daddy.

Locking up children to go and play pachinko.

Some people are true pieces of garbage.

Poor kids. They deserve better.

Japanese bathrooms in older homes are freezing. I hope these kids get to move to a safer place with each other together.

"The issue is the man is not the boy's father, from my understanding of reading the report and he was crying for the father. Is the father no longer alive? Or is it a case of the mother taking the child away from the father as we have seen many times in Japan. "

This is just the saddest thing. The boy crying for his father. No doubt the idiotic judges gave custody to the woman and the father doesn't get to see his kids.

Most women and mothers are decent - better than the average male., But there are also cases when the kids are better off with the father and the evil witch is free to go to pachinko and hang out with the latest loser she picks up.

As a father this story kills me.

The mother and the kids (along with the boyfriend) moved into the house just 2 months ago in December. When the mother and the kids lived in a different place before, their former neighbors called 110 and reported that they hear the kid(s) crying hard. I am not sure if the mother was abusing the kid(s) before she got with this guy or if this guy was with the mother even when they lived in a different place. Apparently, the landload of the house that they live was not aware there was the guy living with the family.

Also, Japanese news said the boy was the mother's second son (Jinan). I wonder if the oldest boy lives with biological father (hoping he does, and if the father is a decent person, I so wish the rest of the children go to him).

Police have arrested a couple in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, for locking up the woman’s 6-year-old son in their bathroom ... Police arrested Shigeyuki Akamatsu, 28, and the 32-year-old mother of the boy, who are the occupants of the house.

I'm confused: it looks like Mr. Akamatsu is not the father of any of these children; he's just the boyfriend of the mother.

Why is the mother, who is the one with the responsibility to care for her children, being kept anonymous, yet this loser she is shacking up with is being named and arrested?

Releasing the mother's name would also identify the children.

Not necessarily. What if the children were visiting the mother on the weekends and the father or the fathers parents had custody. Mothers typically change their names back to their maiden name after divorce. The mother should be identified and flogged.

The couple told police that they had locked up the child in order to go to a pachinko parlor and that they had done the same thing several times in the past, as well.

The dark side of the pachinko illness is child abuse! I've heard of so many cases of child abuse, many resulting in death, while the so-called 'parents' are off playing pachinko. My favorite from a few years ago is a young couple that put their 3 month old baby under the seat of their scooter while they played pachinko. It was the middle of summer and the baby was dead within 30 minutes. In a country where gambling is illegal it's amazing to learn that around 12% of the population play pachinko and half of those are addicted gamblers. What does the government do about it? Nothing, of course, because there is no gambling in Japan, right?

"What does the government do about it? Nothing, of course, because there is no gambling in Japan, right?"

Now repeat after me:

Japan is a law-abiding country with a low crime-rate!!

"It's also possible that the biological father/s is/are not aware of the existence of the children"

The fact that the child was CALLING OUT for his father should tell you everything about you need to know, but...

I guess you must be a teacher!!