7-year-old boy killed in car crash in Fukushima

Monday 17th November, 11:05 AM JST

FUKUSHIMA —

A 7-year-old boy was killed in a traffic accident involving two cars in Minami-Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, on Sunday morning. According to police, Shinnosuke Tamura died after his 43-year-old father’s car crashed into another car at an intersection around 7:20 a.m.

Shinnosuke, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown out of the car and died of severe head injuries. Police said the 25-year-old driver of the other car seems to have ignored the stop sign at the intersection.

The boy’s father and the driver of the other car suffered minor head injuries, police said.

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Latest 15 of 26 Total Comments Show All

terebiko at 01:10 PM JST - 17th November

Remember, this is a country where they moms and dads buy seat belt looseners, so that they won't be bothered by the shoulder strap. Very dangerous. Sure, the driver of the other car, if at fault as the story said, should be punished for bad driving, but the boy's father, or actually the driver of the car the boy and his father were in, should be held responsible in some way for not buckling him up. That is the main reason he is dead, not the fender bender. Sad, easily preventable death.
Rogerrabbitt at 01:24 PM JST - 17th November

Japanese drivers are simply accidents waiting to happen. Every day without fail you can see children jumping around in cars, the parents believing of course that they are perfectly safe. Yes they need education on road safety! but this is not the root of the problem. The root lies in the way the people of Japan are educated along with their cultural beliefs. follow the one path, dont look to the left or the right. A society that is unable to think for themselves if it means wavering of the path. Controled by central government and local government to think and behave in a way that they can be controled. If the government tell the people to buckle up and stop running red lights then they will, because they are used to conforming. Of course they could do this without being told to but after too many years in Japan I see that the people lack common sense and simple reasoning skills. people are going to carry on killing their children through the lack of simple common sense.
Latenights at 01:43 PM JST - 17th November

My childhood was dominated by "Public Information" films on TV about such subjects as playing near railway lines, crossing the road, talking to strangers and wearing seatbelts. I really think Japan needs more of this information... I haven't seen these films for 30 years but I still remember them clearly enough to be cautious. Here's one of the more famous ones about seatbelts, but if you browse through the site you'll find lots more...

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/films/1964to1979/filmpage_clunk.htm
BurakuminDes at 01:48 PM JST - 17th November

I believe his father should be charged with murder, or the very least manslaughter. If friends of drunk people can be charged in Japan if they are involved in a crash, then its only logical that they lock away this deadbeat father. RIP Shinnosuke.
Richard_the_First at 01:53 PM JST - 17th November

Japanese just don't want to think about terrible things, which is why public safety campaigns rarely feature ads at prime time, i.e 7pm or so. Graphic images of the results of drink driving? No, the nation is far too sensitive, must use mosaic to block the merest hint of red stuff.
Disillusioned at 02:10 PM JST - 17th November
So, what charges should the father face? Negligence resulting in death? Manslaughter? Murder? - He failed to stop at a stop sign. He failed to strap his son in. He hit another car resulting in his kid being catapulted out of the car (most likely through the windscreen), which resulted in the boy's death. Some people may think he has been punished already by causing the death of his son. There is no excuse for this kind of irresponsibility.
- And, just last week there was a report about how pleased the police were that people were wearing seat belts. Laughable!
bobcatfish at 02:36 PM JST - 17th November

disillusioned - not withstanding that it was the other driver who caused the accident - any of those charges would suffice. burakuminDes hit the nail on the head.
mindfield80 at 02:37 PM JST - 17th November

Yes, the father takes some responsibility, but don't forget another driver broke the law also. People in general just have to treat driving more as a privilege and not a right. You have to treat it with some responsibility for yourself, your passengers, as well as for other drivers and pedestrians.

I just hope the families involved in this tragedy learn something, as well as the city in general. I actually used to live in this city and know first-hand that many children are free to roam in family cars. It's sad to see.
smithinjapan at 02:43 PM JST - 17th November

Australian highway signs take the cake for shocking, although most are geared towards drunk driving (which Japan could clearly use).

That aside, while the father is, as some pointed out, undoubtedly suffering enough at the loss of his son... well, I'm sorry, but he has committed a crime by not making his child wear a seat belt, and he should be charged as such. I mean, am I wrong? Did the law not change last year to make sure 'all parties in the car wear a seat belt while the car is in motion'? I remember how shocked many of my Japanese friends were, some of whom didn't even know if their back seats had belts or not. Taxis? I'd say half or so don't have seat belts in the back.
dennis0bauer at 03:08 PM JST - 17th November

i think intersections must be banned they casue the problem
gurugurugaijin at 03:51 PM JST - 17th November

A Japanese child in a car not wearing a seat-belt!!!???

Well I never!
ptolemy at 04:02 PM JST - 17th November

When my 9 year old daughter was an infant my wife and I always put her in a proper car seat. In Chicago at the time it cost $75 at Sam's, but the cost was nothing compared to the safety. From 3 to now if she isn't buckled, we do it for her. If she is 40 and is my car, it will be the same, if she doesn't buckle, I'll do it for her. My car moves no where until EVERYONE is buckled up.

With that said, I cannot blame the father too quickly, perhaps the boy buckled up in the driveway, and then unbuckled along the way. When driving it is impossible to keep constant attention on your child. One reason I always have my angel in the back seat, I can check on the rear view and her at the same time, but 100% attention is impossible, especially in heavy Nagoya traffic. My heart goes out to the parents. Rest in peace little one.
memyselfI at 05:55 PM JST - 17th November

I don't know about Honshu but when I was stationed 14 years ago in Kyushu. At every rest stop they would have pictures of highway car accidents. And they have one message. "You Should Wear Your Seat Belt " in kanji. That campaign worked in Kyushu. I think they should have a billboard sign that has pictures of car crashes and a bloody scene. This will make some drives buck up. Plus it will scare the children to buckle up !!!!
change at 08:17 PM JST - 17th November

This reminds me of my own accident a year ago. Someone didn't stop at an intersection and rammed straight into me causing a double summersaulting. I can only imagine where I would have been if I hadn't put on the belt.
seeker1 at 12:21 AM JST - 18th November

Now the question I have is, should the driver of the car carrying the father and boy be punished, or should the father be punished, or both. The driver of the other car will be punished for negligent driving, I would imagine.