Newborn girl dies after being left in bicycle basket in Tokyo

Wednesday 25th February, 05:59 AM JST

TOKYO —

A newborn girl died on Monday after being left in the front basket of a bicycle parked outside a home in Itabashi Ward, police said Tuesday. A nearby resident noticed the infant around 6.30 a.m. and called police. The baby girl, wrapped in a towel, was rushed to hospital and resumed breathing at one point, but was pronounced dead Monday evening.

Police said that the autopsy determined the cause of death to be extremely low body temperature. Police added that the outside temperature in the neighborhood dropped to about 4 degrees Monday morning, and it was raining.

News reports

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Latest 15 of 31 Total Comments Show All

kirakira25 at 03:57 PM JST - 25th February

I get that people are saying that we dont know all the circumstances, that maybe the mother needs help, etc etc etc. But Im sorry, there really IS no excuse. If you are old enough to get pregnant, and deliver a baby you are old enough to know that leaving it outside in the cold and rain is going to do serious damage. Leaving it anywhere other than a place where it can get the immediate help it needs is nothing short of murder really. Even my 5 year old daughter would know that.
Ah_so at 05:43 PM JST - 25th February

Not murder. Infanticide. As in, there are mitigating circumstances.

There are or you think there *might be *"mitigating circumstances"? How could you possibly know at this stage in the procedings? You seem to assume too much.
Kokubuspider at 06:08 PM JST - 25th February

This is a crime, she had several months to come up with a plan and this is the best she could do??? Baby hatches, Hospital, anything, but a basket of a bicycle? Finding it hard to show much sympathy im afraid.
magpie at 06:27 PM JST - 25th February

As a paerent of 3 and soon to be a parent of four, I can't believe that people can be so heartless and cruel to do such a thing.

the girl that gave birth was obviously scared and confused beyond the ability to think correctly. she could have easily killed the baby (aborted it) at any time but obviously wanted to give it a chance. the baby was wrapped in a towel to keep it warm. my heart goes out to her

Hakujinsensei, please don't give me that crap. If she cared or wanted to help this child, she should put the baby up for adoption. Just because she is overwhelmed, the baby shouldn't have to pay the consequence with her life. For peets sakle it was 4 degrees and a blanket alone doesn't help.

I hope this girl can find the help that she needs.

What happened here is a crime. It may not be murder, but it is manslaughter. I hope the parents of the baby (boththe father and mother) get the jail sentence that they deserve. Maybe whilst in jail, they can think through on what a despicable act it is that they have done.
irishosaru at 07:43 PM JST - 25th February

Magpie -

I hope the parents of the baby (boththe father and mother) get the jail sentence that they deserve. Maybe whilst in jail, they can think through on what a despicable act it is that they have done.

How do you know that father (even if he knows he is/was the father of this baby, which we don't know) was complicit in this crime?
jalways at 09:45 PM JST - 25th February

Sometimes reading the comments are better than reading the report.
Sarge at 12:03 AM JST - 26th February

I agree with bugger ( 11:44 ).
OhioDonna at 02:06 AM JST - 26th February

I don't understand why people can be so cruel. I am not a dog or cat lover but I certainly do not treat them as this child was treated.
aelieth at 02:13 AM JST - 26th February

I hate stories like this. Feels like I get stabbed in the heart every time I read one. I'll make sure all my children will be real well taken care of. Poor baby...
Philmoscowitz at 02:40 AM JST - 26th February

reading this story makes me want to cry.
yawmin at 02:44 AM JST - 26th February

everyone is metally damaged to some extent, but i think regardless, one should be held accountable for their actions or shouldnt be allowed to be a part of society.
HonestDictator at 03:44 AM JST - 26th February

@yawmin, unfortunately world society (not just Japan) is more adept at trying to pass off the responsibility on to others. This is just another sad case in the sea of falling social morality and the lack of people being more considerate and willing to help others.

In spite of the fact this child died, the mother apparantly did try to leave the child in as best care as she felt at the moment. So she did have some heart, just not the common sense to do better...Sad and sickening.
ForeignKiri at 01:51 PM JST - 26th February

Just thin of all those people who WANT to get pregnant and raise families ...they would have loved to own that little newborn...it's so sad and such a waste of life...
Rigs83 at 01:53 PM JST - 26th February

Nearly everyone seems angry at the mother of this poor child but their has to have been a father and we don't know his involvement if any. Men have a responsibility to the children they bring into his world but are too often forgiven for neglecting it. Now this is just hearsay and conjecture but as far as we know the mother could be died in an apartment from blood loss and the father distraught and scared abandons his child. But few people seem to think that because women are only expected to take sole responsibility for child rearing.
optikool at 08:51 AM JST - 4th March

Well Rigs83 if they had a picture of the bike that could give you some clues.. most men tend to have a boyish looking bike where as a woman tends to have a girlish bike. But regardless of who was at fault I still can't believe someone would do such a think. Hopefully the police will do DNA testing, track down both parents and find out who is to blame.

HonestDictator, had the mother (or father) really made effort, they would have either put the baby under cover to protect from the rain or left the baby at a hospital. Any idiot could have known what the weather for the past week has been like, especially in Japan. This person simply left the baby walked off...