1-year-old boy dies after being left in car by pachinko-playing mother in Kagoshima

Tuesday 15th April, 10:04 AM JST

KAGOSHIMA —

A 1-year-old boy died after he was left in a car by his mother, while she was playing pachinko in Kajiki, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Monday afternoon. Police said the boy was found by his mother, 35, foaming at the mouth and barely conscious in the car around 5 p.m. She called an ambulance and he was taken to hospital where he died later of heatstroke, police said.

According to police, the mother brought her son to the pachinko parlor which offers a free child-care service. But the children’s room was already full, so the woman left her son in the car while she was playing pachinko from 2 to 5 p.m.

A local meteorological observatory said the temperature only reached 23.3 Celsius on Monday. Police are continuing their investigation.

Latest 15 of 35 Total Comments Show All

romulus3 at 02:51 PM JST - 15th April

why on earth would she think that her child will be ok by himself in a car for 3 hours alone?? what demon bought her to that conclusion?? gambling addiction?? she traded even her child for her addiction?? Its sad and an all to real affliction in human society. I hope she gets prison for it. for sure she will be tortured by what she did.
Desiderata1967 at 03:45 PM JST - 15th April

It makes me sick to hear this kind of story. Irresponsible and stupid - a typical mix for many here in Japan. I hope that child rests in peace. The mother should be given a jail term for negligence resulting in manslaughter.

As for pachinko parlours, the less there are of those hovels the better.
Desiderata1967 at 03:50 PM JST - 15th April

evil robot:

I can't believe you all scolding this woman! Children are constantly being neglected, left alone with guns, knives, in SUVs parked miles away from the grocery store entrance to boil, all kinds of crazy stuff. It's amazing that this even makes national news here. This is nothing new or remarkable.<

I don't know which part of Japan you live in mate, but for the rest of us, we don't here 'constant' news about such things. Kids with guns in SUV's, parked 'miles away from the grocery store entrance to boil' - gee, sounds more like a fictional script from a B-movie rather than actuality of real life here in Japan. I'm sorry you think the death of an innocent 1 year old due to the stupidity of the mother is 'nothing new or remarkable' - I'm sure the family of the child feel much better knowing that and that child's spirit doesn't mind not feeling special.
outofmydepth at 03:50 PM JST - 15th April

why is this not in the CRIME section. it certainly should be. here we go again only this year it is happening earlier. the temp only reached 23.3 celcius. i think they have shown us over and over and over again every year on TV that the temp in the car is much much much higher. when will these stupid people learn?!??!?!? it saddens and sickens me.
Fair dinkum! at 03:57 PM JST - 15th April

This not only happens here and it is not the fault of the pachinko operators. There have been several cases of this at casinos in Australia in recent years. Not all resulted in deaths, but they did result in the children being removed from the cars and the parents being charged.

Now, security guards and police patrol casinos and shopping center cart parking areas looking for kids that these irresponsible twits leave to die in their cars.

Unfortunately, I see it all too often here. Kids left in the cars at shopping centers and pachinko parlors. Quite often they are left with the engines running and toddlers playing inside. It's so disappointing to think that these people do not have the common sense to realize how dangerous these actions are. And, it's even more disappointing that the government does nothing to educate people of these dangers. Could it be a carefully conceived plot to control the population by survival of the smartest?
Hughgarse at 04:25 PM JST - 15th April

boil this mother in oil! how utterly pathetic to think you can leave a 1 year old in a car for 3 hours.. You wouldn`t even do that to a pet, let alone a little kid. Utter shame on this woman, and I hope criminal charges are laid...
DXXJP at 06:21 PM JST - 15th April

Some of you said the business cant be held accountable, yet a establishment that serves booze is responsible for that customer in the event there is a accident.

NEW RULES

15 yeahs ago myself and a friend thought up the play room. He was a carpenter looking for work. None or the pachinko chains were interested
jambon at 11:21 PM JST - 15th April

foaming at the mouth

It would be nice to know the source of this article (Kyodo, etc.).
curlygene at 11:36 AM JST - 16th April

Dear Evil Robot,

Just imagine a world where this kind of thing never got reported. How many more kids would die because people hadn't been made aware of the effects of being inside a closed up car? You really need to consider the media's role in public education.
Zaphod at 11:31 PM JST - 16th April

This is such an archtypical Japanese story. Depressing to read it over and over again. Wait til summer when it gets really hot, there will be more of the same.
CMEANDU26 at 08:00 AM JST - 17th April

So what is her name? Where is she from? Shouldn't they put all of her information out like the do every other person. She isn't under 20. Her family should share the shame that she has put on them. Not the pachinko operators fault. She couldn't get a babysitter she should have just waited. Plain and simple.
European1 at 03:07 PM JST - 17th April

Poor kid, stupidity, brainless and money thinking brain killed own kid. At the end she will be only sent to consultation as stressed mother and after free to go.
zaichik at 04:58 AM JST - 20th April

The first "kid dies in hot car while parent plays pachinko" story of the year. Must be summer.
the_sicilian at 07:46 AM JST - 20th April

As far as this being a crime, the woman should be charged with negligent homicide. Why? She chose to go play pachinko instead of caring for her child. She abandoned the child in the car so as to amuse herself. Yeah, the crime fits.

And there will be more of these this year as the summer season dawns. There will be more apologists coming forth, but it really doesn't matter. This kind of crime, anywhere in the world, should not go unpunished.

Addiu
cwhite at 01:04 AM JST - 21st April

sick, just plain sick... and yes the pachinko parlor should take some responsibility if they expect to take money from a mother with young children. In this instance even more so since she took her son into the parlor and having found the children’s room already full probably came back within 5 minutes without her 1 year old son. As for leaving a 1 year old kid alone in a car for even 5 minutes is just plain criminal. They should just make it illegal to leave a kid unattended especially outside the house. I hope the children’s room is smoke free!!