crime

Man gets 3 years for causing brain damage to 5-month-old daughter by shaking her violently

22 Comments

The Yokohama District Court on Tuesday sentenced a 32-year-old man to three years in prison for causing his 5-month-old daughter serious brain damage by violently shaking her.

The court heard that Sho Nishikawa was at home alone with his daughter Kairi in Yokohama's Sakae Ward on March 22 last year, TBS reported. When his wife returned home, Kairi, who was usually healthy, did not stop crying all night.

Medical checks revealed that she had sustained brain damage, most likely caused by being violently shaken. Police consulted several medical experts and began to assemble a case against Nishikawa, who was alone with Kairi at the time of the incident which caused her injuries. He admitted to the charge and said he shook his daughter because she wouldn't stop crying.

Police said Kairi continues to suffer from a range of medical problems as a result of her injuries and requires full-time care.

Prosecutors had called for Nishikawa to be jailed for five years.

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22 Comments
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who was alone with Kairi at the time of the incident which caused her injuries. He admitted to the charge and said he shook his daughter because she wouldn’t stop crying.

Unbelievable... This is a Systemic problem in Japan... I don't know what it is, about this fascination with putting hands on a child's head, or in this case, shaking violently, but it's systemic. I can't tell you how many times in public I've watched Japanese, always the father, put their hands on a child's head, in some kind of authoritative or controlling manner, pulling, yanking, pushing, or striking... Unbelievable..

Not three days did I watch a father, grab and yank around his 3-year daughter, trying to control her movements... Next time I will personally intervene by putting my hands on that father!

-4 ( +6 / -10 )

Chin4Sailor - Child Abuse is SYSTEMIC in EVERY country !......What is good is to see the POLICE & COURTS in Japan begin to address this with more teeth in their bite .

3 ( +8 / -5 )

@simpltonfi

Child Abuse is SYSTEMIC in EVERY country

I wouldn't know about EVERY COUNTRY!

But I can tell you, young man, it's a systemic problem HERE in Japan, it's something that has been passed down, generation by generation, ESPECIALLY with the putting of hands on children's heads, it is exclusively a Japanese problem!

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

Chin4Sailor - Child Abuse is SYSTEMIC in EVERY country !......What is good is to see the POLICE & COURTS in Japan begin to address this with more teeth in their bite .

You call three years more teeth in the bite? This child is potentially harmed for life due to her father's ignorance and stupidity and selfishness.

3 years is a drop in the bucket for what he should have been given.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

The sentence is too short. He damaged a normal healthy child who might have grown up normal and healthy. Now, she will never be. Never.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

The sentence is too short.

Hopefully, he will be the one that has to care for his near brain-dead daughter for the rest of her life. That would be a sentence befitting the crime.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

So sad. Whenever I hear news like this I pray that Japan will do one of their infamous 'campaigns', but, for good. Not for sales or to catch bad drivers... to educate the public on what not to do to children and where to get the proper information on what to do. The poor girl was probably just tired, hungry, sick or wanted a cuddle.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

"disillusioned" Why would you want a guy who obviously cannot take care of a normal child take care of a brain dead daughter? If he does not have the patience to ride out a baby cry fit, then certainly not fit to take care of anything. In fact, there should be a court order to keep him away from his daughter till he can demonstrate that he can control his anger.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

What a flake. It saddens me enormously to read things like this. A 5 month old baby being damaged for life by one of the many adult babies this country has far too many of. How can you be 32 years and not understand that shaking a baby might not be a good idea? Like Ch1n4Sailor, I, too have seen many cases of parents thinking the best way to bring up a child is to hit them on the head. I know in Japan, you prey on the weak, but come on, you don't hit kids, no matter what.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

5 years sounds about right....but of course the j-justice system won't have it.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I so hate these stories. Where do idiots like this keep popping up. A baby is so fragile, how in the world can you abuse it like that.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Amazing... only three years for violently shaking a baby and giving her brain damage that will last her whole life, and yet a guy who handles a ten yen coin at a temple gets imprisoned for one year.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

5 years sounds about right....but of course the j-justice system won't have it.

Where do you get the idea that 5 years is alright? One year for each month of his daughters age?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

WTF that's it! Should have gotten 20 years and an hour of violently shaking each day!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Yes agree with Takuma, this guy needs to be violently manhandled everyday for the rest of his life. Yes i know revenge is not the solution. Only 5 months old poor child.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

uhm i dunno, maybe its just ignorance rather than malice?

mebbe not a lot of people in jpn know its bad news to shake a keiki

0 ( +0 / -0 )

As is often the case, be careful what you wish for. In the US traditionally we have automatically imprisoned parents for shaken baby syndrome whenever a baby died for no apparent reason. Now we're learning that there are a number of things that can cause apparent brain damage besides shaking a baby, and a lot of imprisoned parents are being freed. Now, prosecutors are starting to require real evidence that an adult shook a baby, specifically that someone actually saw it happen.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

cramp:

" mebbe not a lot of people in jpn know its bad news to shake a keiki "

You don´t need particular education to understand how easy it is to damage a baby. Just pick one up. You notice immediately how immensely powerful you are in comparison.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

When will people learn that a baby cannot be forced to stop crying by shaking it...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

You don´t need particular education to understand how easy it is to damage a baby. Just pick one up. You notice >immediately how immensely powerful you are in comparison.

powerful in comparison is a moot point

the thing is i've seen parents shake their kids but in a wiggly, playful manner and even throw them up and catch 'em...also playing

so yes, you do need to educate people, not just parents, that when you have a child in your hands, no shaking, even for fun

its general education for everyone since everyone, is a friend, uncle or whatever to a kid or someone with a kid

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Only three years! His daughter is damaged for LIFE!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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