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Mother holding 1-year-old baby jumps in front of train in Tokyo

59 Comments

A 36-year-old woman holding her one-year-old son in her arms jumped off the platform in front of a train at Nezu Station on the Chiyoda subway line in Tokyo, police said.

The woman was killed by an oncoming train but the child survived, sustaining only minor injuries, TV Asahi reported.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Witnesses told police the woman did not fall or was pushed, but jumped.

The train service was suspended for one hour, affecting about 68,000 commuters, Tokyo Metro said.

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59 Comments
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Another mother of the year takes her baby with her! But let's her the people come on and talk about how she had ppd or it's not her fault, etc. rip, little one.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Thank goodness the child survived. Hopefully, there will be someone able to help take care of the baby.

16 ( +17 / -1 )

Thank goodness the child survived. Hopefully, there will be someone able to help take care of the baby

If there was, I don't think she would have thought a murder suicide was her best option. .

6 ( +13 / -7 )

Hopefully, there will be someone able to help take care of the baby.

The baby will be taken care of. Let's just hope it will be someone able to give the baby a better life.

So sad for both the mother and her child.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

If I had the money I'd like to take out a full page ad in the major Japanese newspapers and magazines saying something to the effect that there's nothing more selfish than a parent who kills themselves and their child for whatever reason. Whether or not they'd let me publish such an ad is a different story but somehow people need to change their mindset. It just seems to be happening so much recently and it's so heart wrenching. Thank god the child survived, as well as that 11 year old boy who was stabbed the other day by his mum.

7 ( +13 / -6 )

If I had the money I would adopt this child.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

If I had the money, I'd take out a full page add in all the major newspapers and magazines saying that you are not alone. You are not the only person suffering from depression and that there is help out there. I would then include a number of phone numbers of the organisations that can help.

It's wonderful that the contributors on here have never suffered from depression and I hope that continues forever. But depression is all encompassing. It's a very real pain that manifests itself not just through emotional and mental issues but pain throughout your very being. People say that suicide is selfish. People who say that don't have a clue.

In New Zealand they recently covered the coroner's inquiry into Jacintha Saldanah's death. At the end of that story and every other one that reports on suicide they give a list of numbers that can help people with suicidal thoughts. In Japan, they say how many trains were delayed and how many commuters were affected and until that changes and until people accept the problem then these tragedies will continue every day and every week.

29 ( +32 / -4 )

Selfish mother, take your own life not other peoples.

-13 ( +9 / -22 )

Heda_Madness: " People say that suicide is selfish. People who say that don't have a clue."

And so you think people that try to take others with them -- especially their own children -- are benevolent? YES, someone sinking low enough to the point where they feel their only way out is death is tragic on many levels, and YES society needs to do more to help them. But, sorry, them wanting to take others' lives with their own is the most selfish thing you can do, PERIOD. Feeling sympathy for those that do so (or fail in this case, fortunately) really only encourages others to do so, and if you need proof of that, just look at how often it's happened this year alone with mothers taking their children's lives (or trying to).

Sorry, Heda... What this woman did was INCREDIBLY selfish, and hopefully that's how she's remembered. The baby, on the other hand, very fortunately survived mom's selfishness and I pray he finds a mother that actually thinks on his behalf instead of her own.

-11 ( +10 / -21 )

Barriers... NOW!

2 ( +8 / -6 )

im a mother of a 2-y.o. son and i can understand the feeling of being suicidal. it was the hardest battle i have to fight with ...but i cant ever understand how a mother could take their children with her to death. its mere selfishness. they never deserved it PERIOD

17 ( +17 / -0 )

You're trying to use logic. The problem with that is there is no logic in depression. Killing yourself is pretty illogical isn't it? That you think life is so utterly horrendous that the only way you can get past is to die is as about as illogical as you can get.

Yet if you're at that point. If you think that it is the best and only way to go. Then it's natural that you would take your children with you. How on earth can it be fine for them and not you?

You can't use logic with depression. It's not selfish and I am pleased that you don't fully understand that.

Japan needs better counseling. It needs better support. And it needs better understanding.

This woman thought there was no alternative as have thousands before her. They need to be shown that there is an alternative.

From the government down.

17 ( +21 / -5 )

post-partum depression is all too real. this story has all kinds of sadness in it.

13 ( +14 / -2 )

I've said it before and i'll say it again, there is something wrong with moms in this country. Its every day or so we hear about this.

Yeah sometimes its the dad, but usually its the mom.

Good job mom. Kill yourself, at least you weren't able to take your baby with you. Selfish, moronic, piece of trash.

-17 ( +5 / -22 )

Heda_Madness: " People say that suicide is selfish. People who say that don't have a clue."

And so you think people that try to take others with them -- especially their own children -- are benevolent?

If they take someone with them, the person they kill isn't a suicide, it's a murder.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Selfish selfish biatch, pity for the child who was unlucky enough to be born by this woman, I hope the child grows up to lead a happy normal life after this horrific event it has just been through.

I wish for this child to not suffer any permanent emotional or mental harm having endured this.

I cannot imagine wanting to commit suicide and take my child with me on the way out, damn how insanely self centred one would have to be. But then I guess if you are suffering mentally enough to take your own life then rational thinking has already gone out the window.

-8 ( +4 / -12 )

Why?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

As always in these situations, I feel sorry for the train driver and those (including children, no doubt) who had to witness this spectacle.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

It's really impolite to say the mom was selfish without knowing full well her own mental state. In fact very few of the suicide cases have anything to do with selfishness. Quite the opposite, the number one cause is depression caused by a factor that happens in everyday life, hardships, loneliness, mental fatigue, etc. but not selfishness. Japan has many doctors who do work with mental patients and I have seen the facilities for them too. There is a number Inochi no Denwa (Lifeline Telephone Service): Japan 0120-738-556/Tokyo 3264-4343 that people can call, the trouble is getting them to call in their state of mind. One can speculate and assume all day long and never get to the tip of the iceberg as to why this woman did what she did and her irrational behavior or state of mind. The mind can make a person take drastic action but depends on the circumstances. So if you find yourself, step back and slow down, you will find that life is passing you by, not you passing life by.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Become a parent specialy a mother is a big responsibility , great and hard duty for life long to brought up the children. Help them to become a responsible person and nice human being . Now what for the baby? Mother should have think so many times for him.one should not give up so easily infront of hardships and problems in the life. Very sorry for the mother and baby!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The explanation is simple... They get depressed and they rest. They doesn't want to be alone when they die. Japanese believes in life after death,if u know what i mean.They believes that if they died there is a place waiting for them right away where no one knows them. They didn't really want die, actually they are trying to hide from their problems, troubles, from this selfish world. You know,...they're like robots.^_^they thought suicide doesn't hurts!

6 ( +7 / -1 )

God bless the little child. sad story.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

What a mean and selfish twat! I really don't care if my comments seem abusive or offensive. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior. If it wasn't bad enough she decided to take the life of her child as well, she also seriously disrupted the lives of over 60,000 people. I have no sympathy or empathy for this at all. Hopefully, the kid will go into foster care and never be told of the circumstances of how he became a foster child.

-10 ( +4 / -14 )

But depression is all encompassing. It's a very real pain that manifests itself not just through emotional and mental issues but pain throughout your very being. People say that suicide is selfish. People who say that don't have a clue.

You can't use logic with depression. It's not selfish and I am pleased that you don't fully understand that.

I absolute agree with your whole comments but I quested only part of them. It's a very wise reply to people who use words "selfish", "murder" etc. Of course maybe someone could think that it doesn't matter what we all write here. It doesn't change anything... NO! Because who knows? Maybe a person with suicidal tendencies just read it now. Even only one and see these beautiful words which Heda Madness wrote before:

that you are not alone. You are not the only person suffering from depression and that there is help out there...

These words are so much better than another which some persons used.

And the most important, we should more take care of people who surrounded us. Because someday we can be in shock thinking: "Why did she/he do that? She/he seems to be so nice person...". Yeah, I know, I know... everyone of us is busy, have own life and it's hard to find time to another person. But sometimes even short talk can help us understanding what this person thinks. And maybe it can help us to realize that someone needs help. More empathy, and less judge...

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Heda_Madness: "Then it's natural that you would take your children with you."

There is NOTHING natural about murder, and even though my first comment got deleted as 'off topic', I find it sad that people like yourself need to come to this woman's defense, and literally defend murder or attempted murder (in this case) and suggest it's no one's fault, etc. etc.

"How on earth can it be fine for them and not you?"

Who says it's fine for anyone? It is most certainly NOT fine for them to take others with them, and again, not at all natural to even try. What some are saying is that if you are absolutely going to do it no matter that it's not fine, PLEASE don't take others with you!

"You can't use logic with depression."

And that exactly what you are trying to do. On the contrary most people would agree that there is nothing logical about and no defense for murder.

"It's not selfish and I am pleased that you don't fully understand that."

It IS selfish -- 100% Please do tell me what is more selfish than trying to take another life, especially that of a baby's, because YOU think you should? Tell me ONE SINGLE thing that is more selfish.

You guys can shout about Post Partem Depression as Steve and a couple of others have, but I doubt very much they tried to or succeeded in murdering others over it. This woman wins the most selfish award of the day, not a sympathy card. Thank god the baby will survive to grow up and hopefully finds someone who loves her -- not someone who wants to kill her.

Disillusioned: "What a mean and selfish twat! I really don't care if my comments seem abusive or offensive."

Exactly. What's offense are that people defend what she did and tried to do.

-10 ( +2 / -12 )

Suicide is often a cry for help, and if someone can find what the problem is, a life may be saved. People should not be afraid or ashamed to seek help.. However, people who are determined to kill themselves can usually find a way to do it, despite the best efforts of family and friends to prevent it. Suicide is not something that happens to other people. It happens to people we know. It happens to ourselves. Hope the baby is well taken care of.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

If I had the money....

I would take an ad out in all newspapers and magazines...

and explain that going to the Dr for depression is a very bad thing as he/she will only throw you dangerous

meds that will screw you faster than a shotgun blast to the head.

By implementing a very high quality diet (vitamins/minerals/antioxidants/healthy fats and lots of beneficial

bacteria for the gut) and refraining from the western diet as well as exercise you will most likely eliminate

your depression/mental illnesses or at least drastically reduce it so it is "manageable".

Did you know 95% of serotonin is made in the gut for example? EAT fermented foods. Do you know the

remarkable benefits of Vitamin D3? Omega 3? etc etc.

Screw the Drs and Big Pharma.

Hope this helps at least one person!

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

@StormR

I wish for this child to not suffer any permanent emotional or mental harm having endured this..

The baby is too young now to realize however, even if he finds a loving home, even the new "secrecy law" is not going to hide the fact he's been adopted and knowing how Japanese school kids love to tease and bully, he may face a pretty grim time ahead.

My elder son went to a Japanese school. He was bullied for much less than that. He is left-handed so his "school mates" broke his left arm...

@Disillusioned

Hopefully, the kid will go into foster care and never be told of the circumstances of how he became a foster child.

An American friend of mine became engaged to a Japanese man. When he took her to introduce her to his parents (a rather "well-off" couple) he was told that if he married her, he would be "disowned" by them because he wasn't their "real" son anyway... It can be hidden for some of the time, but not "forever".

2 ( +2 / -0 )

So glad to hear the baby survived with only minor injuries. The mother was very selfish to have done what she did.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

I don't know if I could call her selfish. Disturbed? Irrational? Yes. I don't think "selfish" is a good word to use of such mentally ill people.

You have to wonder what was so bad in her life...

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Could be she had a very unhappy family life. Maybe she had a terminal illness. Just sad to read these stories and I am so glad the child survived. Would be really sad if the child finds out about her mother one day by someone saying she died jumping in front of a train with you clutched in her arms!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I think the word selfish has been a bit overused here peeps Head brings up some good points for discussion How about not getting so heated when someone brings up an alternative argument with some valid points looking at what we could do to improve the situation through different support lines rather than just easily branding people with such simple minded words.

It's selfish to be so damn closed minded.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I guess many people commenting do not live in Japan. Depression and mental illness is largely ignored here. Is truly sad.

As for the child, thanks to the culture of not adopting a child that is not blood related it will end up in a government run place till its an adult.

So sad. My heart goes out to the woman who was so distressed that death seemed the only way out.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Japan is totally in denial when it comes to this issues.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

what annoys me with these stories is if your going to kill your self ...fine get on with it, but don't involve other people i.e. your child, the train driver, what about this poor bloke going about his business then some selfish pig splatters him/her self across his windscreen,,, not nice, also do the train drivers have counciling for the trauma they get?? and what about the people that have to wash the trains off and pick up body parts....right iam ready for the thumbs down brigade!!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Sometimes I think a story like this should not even be reported on and should be kept private within the family.

It only encourages people to copycat which happens quite often here.

If the name gets released, people blame the family to the point they call and write letters to the family of how horrible they are. People even make death threats.

It only makes a person feel depressed which the media is quite good at.
2 ( +3 / -1 )

Extremely regrettable. And all train and subway stations need the barriers installed NOW, not another 10 years from now.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The very last sentence to the report above states exactly what is wrong in Japan today.

They are more worried about the 68,000 people that were INCONVINECED by the woman committing suicide and failed to take her precious child with her as she wanted.

I weep for the people of Japan.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

If a father did this we’d probably all be asking where the mother is and why she didn’t do something. In either situation we’d probably blame the mother and excuse the father. Where is the father in this picture?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@ smithinjapan:

"You can't use logic with depression."

And that exactly what you are trying to do. On the contrary most people would agree that there is nothing logical about and no defense for murder.

Of course there is logic in depression, you misread what Heda_Madness was saying. Depression is an illness that can be understood and learned about, with logic, reason and compassion. There is logic in what causes it and logic in what cures it. All Heda said is that there is skewed logic in the mind of a depressed person; their minds are diseased and they need help, not people criticizing them and stigmatizing them further. As for attempting to murder her child, I would consider it more likely that she could not stand the idea of leaving it behind, considering that it will now most likely end up in a loveless government facility until it becomes an adult, and is then thrown into the same compassionless world that she lived in, one that still has much to learn about mental illness.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The Japanese court system will find a way to lay some of the blame on the baby for inconveniencing the 68,000 who were delayed. Don't think so? You haven't been in Japan long enough. Ask a Japanese if this will not be so. Their reply: "Demo, shoganai."

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Yes, another victory for the poor innocent children. There was a stabbing incident recently where the mother tried to kill the child and then herself but the child survived and she didnt. Love happy endings. Well happy in a relative sense. Innocent children 2- 0 psycho mothers.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I am absolutely with Heda on this.

Bandying the word 'selfish' around with suicide shows how far we have to go as a society in understanding and accepting mental illness. We brand it with with the worst adjectives to describe the human condition - selfish, crazy, mad so that it helps us to rationalise what the person has done, and the fact that they are clearly different from the rest of us, and therefore are emotionally or mentally removed from the group. But they aren't.

Those people are you and I. In fact, if current statistics are accurate, every 5th poster on this thread will experience a form of mental illness this year. Obviously, there are differing degrees of that, but ...will it be me? Will in be SmithinJapan? Will it be Heda_Madness? Might be all 3.

The sad fact and truth of the matter is that depression makes intelligent, beautiful people do terrible, horrifying things to themselves, and sadly, sometimes others. Things you would never, ever conceive that they could do, until they do. Unfortunately, I know this from experience.

And I might add, we know nothing at all about this woman other than a desperate act in the last second or so of her life. Don't be so quick to judge.

It's wonderful that the child survived. It's so sad about his/her mother.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

People are calling her selfish for trying to take her one-year-old child with her. Not for killing herself.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

People are calling her selfish for trying to take her one-year-old child with her. Not for killing herself.

and those people are people who seem to make no effort to understand mental illness.

@wipeout

And you have applied an amateur diagnosis of depression to someone without having any knowledge of that person's history at all.

Do you have anything to add on the subject or do you just feel the need to attack me for my opinion? I've fought depression for years. I have some understanding of the darkness, the loneliness and the horrendous pain and based on my experiences I would say that she was suffering from depression.

Now, more than happy for you to put forward your view point and personal experience if you feel the need. And I certainly won't be having a go at you for it if it's different to mine. But leave the need to belittle other people's comments at the door. It's really not needed here.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

and those people are people who seem to make no effort to understand mental illness.

I feel for the lady that she was in such a bad place that she felt killing herself was the only solution. But I have to agree that taking her baby was just selfish, even if she was in a state of depression. It's simply unforgivable regardless of anything.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

that's just really sad. :( I wonder what drove her to this point? and what could have been done to prevent it. why is the suicide rate in japan so high?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

At least the baby survived...too bad for the mother, but then again, she wanted to die so, job done.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

At least the baby lived. I feel sorry for the mother but nice to know that her plan to die with the baby did not happen.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This is not nNational news, it's CRIMINAL

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

@: wipeout

And you have applied an amateur diagnosis of depression to someone without having any knowledge of that person's history at all.

Guessing you are the amateur, considering that 90% of all suicides are caused by depression. Therefore, the possibility that this woman was depressed is 90% - a likely enough assumption. And the likelihood of you criticizing a dead woman who was ill and needed help and sympathy, rather than scorn, is 90%. Think about that.

As for the 'attempted murder', I don’t find it all that strange to imagine that the thought of leaving her child alone on that platform, or walking away from it at home - abandoning it - was even more unthinkable for her. Especially since the child will now probably end up in a loveless government facility until it's an adult, and is then thrown into a world where some people apparently don't know mental illness if it hits them in the face.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Wipeout,

I mentioned I'd suffered from depression as I think it enables me, with confidence, to say that people who are depressed are less capable of thinking logically and rationally all of the time. As such, I think it's relevant.

You seem to think that she was not depressed. Yet she killed herself. You have no knowledge of her medical history but instead decide that my 'amateur diagnosis' is wrong therefore your 'amateur diagnosis' is correct. And that is despite the fact that the leading cause of suicide is depression. There's a greater than 90% chance that she had some form of mental illness and depression is the most common mental illness.

I'd certainly suggest that there is more than a 'shred of evidence' that she was suffering from depression.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@ wipeout:

Since this incident, there have been a couple more stories about people killing themselves and their kid or kids. This was one of them - in this particular case involving someone who wasn't outwardly depressed, or seeking help, or known to have been diagnosed.

I don't know if you're posting this other article to defend the idea that a diagnosis of depression is wrong or premature in suicide cases, but either way - it doesn't really do much for your argument. I've read the article, and the fact that the husband thought his wife was happy and content says little about whether she was actually depressed or not. First of all because 25% of suicides show no outward signs of depression. Depression is a rather invisible, internal illness that is often stigmatized and those who are depressed may either not know they are, deny they are, or are afraid to show others the extenct of their mental problems because people will think they are crazy, or you know... selfish.

Secondly, happiness and depression are not mutually exclusive. Especially if you think of how vague a concept "happiness" is. What does that even mean? Robin Williams, for instance, was famous, had a wonderful family, and I have no doubt he was quite happy. But he was suffering severely at the same time. It's not impossible to be happy with where you are in life, but still feel terrible and not see the point of living at the same time.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Of course it's premature. Any diagnosis without knowing something of a person's history is inappropriate. That's why medical professionals insist on meeting their patients before making one.

Stop getting so worked up over technicalities. Of course people need to be properly diagnosed before they receive treatment. And you do realize that none of us ever said we were making a professional diagnosis? No one said this was depression for sure, just that it's very likely. And why is it more appropriate to call the woman selfish and crazy based on that same 8-line story?

You say you "don't find it at all strange" that a mother would murder her child, and you even gave me some cool reasons why it's better to subject the child to a violent and public death than to let it live. I disagree, but each to their own.

Doing this again? They are not MY reasons. They are possible conclusions a depressed person might come to in the moments before they kill themselves.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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