Father, 3 children die in apparent murder-suicide in Hiroshima

Wednesday 17th June, 09:02 AM JST

HIROSHIMA —

The bodies of a man and his three children were discovered Tuesday by the man’s parents who had come to visit him in his Nishi Ward apartment. The children, two 4 year-old twin boys and a 3 year-old girl, were all nursery school students. According to police, the four were laying on their futons and had no visible external injuries. In the room were charcoal cinders and a make-shift will scribbled on a piece of paper. Police believe the man forced the three children to commit suicide with him.

According to Hiroshima City officials, the man was receiving welfare for the three children.

Based on witness reports that the man and children had been seen in the neighborhood about a week before the incident and the state of the bodies, police believe the deaths occurred a few days prior to being discovered. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death.

The three children lived together with their father, who was separated from his wife. The children had been absent from nursery school since mid-May.

The Hiroshima City child consultation office reports that the man had called them at the end of January and admitted he was having difficulty taking care of the three children. The office recommended he temporarily give the children up, but the man refused. From that time, a child welfare office contacted the family once per month, and when an officer visited the home at the end of May, the children appeared to be healthy and the man in high spirits.

News reports

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Latest 15 of 31 Total Comments Show All

Molenir at 01:34 PM JST - 17th June

Another pathetic loser who decides to murder his children, rather then simply kill himself, and allowing them to live, and to eventually, hopefully, find happiness. Typical Japanese, very sad.
norinrad21 at 01:58 PM JST - 17th June

This just breaks my heart
timorborder at 03:06 PM JST - 17th June

Separation in Japan - Winner takes all. What a prize.

If anything, this says a lot about how easy it is for people to fall through the social welfare cracks in modern Japan. Anyone remember the chap who died earlier this month of starvation with a grand total of 9 yen in his pocket.

In this case you have a father who was being supported but who was obviously out of his depth. You also have social services that were only visiting once a month (hardly an aggressive execution of this case).

Finally, does anybody really care? The kids (and I assume the father) had died a number of days before they were discovered. Life goes on doesn't it. To put this in another (more calleous) way, nobody noticced anything until the bodies started decomposing (and stinking up the neighborhood.

RIP to all.
dracpoo2 at 03:27 PM JST - 17th June

This maybe the seventh safest country in the world, but not for kids. I am now convinced.
jackfish at 03:35 PM JST - 17th June

There is no such thing as "forced suicide". Its murder, committed by the ultimate coward.
telecasterplayer at 03:47 PM JST - 17th June

Police believe the man forced the three children to commit suicide with him.

That's called "murdered".
jhk at 04:25 PM JST - 17th June

Wrongful act, perhaps, but this was clearly poverty related.
Monoflow at 04:25 PM JST - 17th June

What's going on in this wonderful country with all these wonderful people?...
BBLeo at 07:26 PM JST - 17th June

I do ask myself where MOM was at the time. Is this another single Dad with three children? Mother of children should be charged and placed behind the bars. RIP children with your father. Perhaps he was trying hard, but this is not recommended for any man. He di9d perhaps lost his marbles, and this was his only option at the end. Sure it is murder-suicide, but after all he shouldn't be the only one blamed. How can a mother leave the children to a man alone? How can he earn daily bread and also look after children? ‘DON’T FEAR NEW FRASHION IS HERE!’
cleo at 09:47 PM JST - 17th June

I do ask myself where MOM was at the time. Is this another single Dad with three children? Mother of children should be charged and placed behind the bars.....How can a mother leave the children to a man alone?

The article says the couple were separated. So now having a failed marriage is grounds for criminal prosecution? As to how a mother can leave her children ... maybe she didn't leave. Maybe she was forced out. It seems from the father's subsequent actions (refusing to put the children in care even though he couldn't manage them himself, eventually killing the little mites...) that he was more than capable of unilateral, selfish action. Maybe she came home one day to find the locks changed. Or to find he'd moved and taken the kids with him. We have no idea. Demanding people be put in prison on the basis of nothing more than your own imaginings is going way too far.

And what, pray, is a frashion?
ca1ic0cat at 01:20 AM JST - 18th June

Nope, I don't understand why a parent would murder their child. I can understand the couple in Britain killing themselves when the kid died but I don't understand killing your kids because you are going to kill yourself. Sounds like nothing more than a selfish, brutal power play by a mentally ill person.

So why would a parent kill his own child. Somebody explain that to me. Insanity is the only thing I can think of.
amerijap at 01:44 AM JST - 18th June

What makes non-Japanese as well as Japanese more perplexing on such murder-suicide case is how the conduct is described in a Japanese context. They usually call it "muri-shinjyu"(coerced suicide) instead of "satsujin"(murder) in their language. The word "muri-shinjyu"(coerced suicide) attempts to separate the meaning of 'murder' in that a conductor has no ulterior motive for her/his own survival. I bet no other country but Japan embraces such concept. Most English-speaking countries will call it a “double-murder.”
Good_Jorb at 02:52 AM JST - 18th June

Most English-speaking countries will call it a “double-murder.”

Atleast in Canada and the States it's usually refered to murder-sucide, double-murder usually refers to the killing of two people, just as a triple-homicide refers to the killing of three people.
Molenir at 04:24 AM JST - 18th June

Also, although the mods don't like comparisons, this happens all over the world; it's not unique to Japan.

You are correct of course. It is certainly not a problem unique to Japan. However for some reason, it seems much more prevalent here then elsewhere. In the states when it happens, people are shocked. They simply don't understand. Here, its such a common occurrence that people hardly think twice about it. And thats really the difference as far as I can tell.
amerijap at 07:55 AM JST - 18th June

...,double-murder usually refers to the killing of two people, just as a triple-homicide refers to the killing of three people.

Yeah, you're right. I was confused with a former WWE superstar Chris Benoit's murder-suicide case where he strangled his wife and son to death shortly before he took his own life two years ago. This case, however, there were three children. Anyway, murder-suicide is probably not equivalent to Japanese word of "muri-shinjyu," because its connotation leans toward the meaning of suicide.