2 infants die in apartment fire in Ibaraki Prefecture

Saturday 14th November, 12:30 PM JST

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elbudamexicano at 03:11 PM JST - 14th November

Horrible! Just horrible! How can this so called mother have left her 2 young children unattended? This is just stupid! They were asleep? Yes because they felt safe while mommy was doing something at home, but she leaves shopping, they wake up and now they are dead from this horrible fire! Something is very, very wrong with Japanese families!
stirfry at 03:21 PM JST - 14th November

shopping at 10:30pm on a friday...suuuuuuuure she was
my2sense at 03:47 PM JST - 14th November

this one got me... nearly the same as the murdered 19 yr old... My super Japanese wife would never leave my son except for a split second and this loon took one kid and left the younger when it should of been vice versa. I worry bigtime. But given the hour, day and time and dont drop in on someone at home mentality... fishy for sure. Turning a trick?, really needing food or drink, meeting the real father?... It reaks of foul play or a real f ing social problem. It might be a poor white trash thing here now... to treat your kids as pets and smoke a ciggie at the train station or Dennys...with them in the area... we will see..
kirakira25 at 03:52 PM JST - 14th November

Shopping? At 10.30 at night??! Oh, for crying out loud, when is this crap going to stop???!

@Apsara - apparently, they DONT have laws about leaving children unattended here. My MIL proudly tells me how she used to leave her babies alone and go shopping, and then wonders why I wont send my own kids to stay with her.
Molenir at 04:06 PM JST - 14th November

Going along with what others have said, what parent leaves their children unattended like this? The best thing I could say about the mother, is that she is a bad parent. I'll stop there however.
dolphingirl at 05:16 PM JST - 14th November

Absolutley horrible. kirakira: I think you're right. There are aren't child endangerment laws here. Totally ridiculous. And just to echo what others have said: what kind of mother leaves her two very young kids alone!?! Finally, if fathers didn't have to work so late and so much maybe we wouldn't hear of these terribly tragedies so often.
stirfry at 06:42 PM JST - 14th November

dad working at 10:30pm on a friday ? a bit more believable, but...really ?
Eizenhauer at 07:28 PM JST - 14th November

Both parents must be properly punished for killing their babies.No further discussion.Execution.
dammit at 07:36 PM JST - 14th November

I can't believe how often these things happen here. Yes, here. They happen back home too, but they seem to have started sometimes prosecuting the grieving neglectful parent who was responsible for putting their child in danger. It's about time they started prosecuting them here too. It's sickening and unbelievable to leave babies alone like that, and whether the kids started the fire playing with lighters or whether it was something else, they must have suffered so much. Poor little souls. Their mother should be shot. And that's the best thing I can say about her.
kadenmaya at 09:09 PM JST - 14th November

oh my....this so sad..."They were found near the entrance of their residence and confirmed dead later at a hospital" they were trying to get out...god bless them and punish their parent who left them alone, they should be made a example of, this is happening to much in this country, any thing can happen in a second...im sure they were both asleep so the mom thought she could slip out for a bit and everything would be peachy....im sure she has done this before and thought nothing ever happens...but what IF...
Miyaratmosphere at 11:41 PM JST - 14th November

Horrible! Just horrible! How can this so called mother have left her 2 young children unattended? This is just stupid! They were asleep? Yes because they felt safe while mommy was doing something at home, but she leaves shopping, they wake up and now they are dead from this horrible fire! Something is very, very wrong with Japanese families!

Something here smells really bad, I'd cut off my head if I'm wrong though..So she "went out" with her 4 year old so late at night, huh...nice way of getting rid of the two younger kids by leaving something burning behind and making it look like an accident. Is this person retarded or what? She knew the dangers of leaving two infants behind..that's why I'm pretty convinced she "knew", therefore, she did something before leaving...Go Figure.
Miyaratmosphere at 11:43 PM JST - 14th November

plus, there are no child endangerment laws in this crap-country so people can just murder their kids whenever they feel like it and get away with it. Most baby-killers just get a suspended sentence and a slap in the wrist. that's Japan for ya!
BurakuminDes at 12:35 AM JST - 15th November

There is word on the streets of Ibaraki these parents will be charged with manslaughter. Do the JT bloggers agree or disagree?
Miyaratmosphere at 01:37 PM JST - 15th November

AGREE, but with MURDER!! Charge them with 1st Degree MURDER!! I hope they both rot and scream in hell. R.I.P. little angels in heaven.
bcbrownboy at 09:45 AM JST - 20th November

I used to feel the same way as these posters, but after 20 years in Japan there are circumstances . . .

One: Shopping at 10:30 p.m. is pretty normal here in Mito, as that's when the prices go reasonable, especially for a woman with 3 young kids. Many young families must shop that that time in order to afford to feed the family.

Two: There is often no support for young mothers here in Japan. The father is working (or pachinko-ing), and asking neighbors to watch your kids is usually impossible, especially at 10:30 at night.

Three: Until you've walked a mile in the shoes of a mother with three kids under 5 years old, in this unsupportive culture, with almost zero social support, you should have some compassion. I venture to say, that if you were in her position, you would be sorely tempted to do the same thing. And I bet you might do it.

If the kids were peacefully sleeping when she left, that is a lot different from say leaving your kids outside the pachinko parlor on a hot summer day.

I have a lot of sympathy for this poor lady who came back from shopping, gamely trying to take care of her family, to find her two youngest dead, and knowing that she would be blamed.

I feel shame toward these posters.