3-year-old girl dies after being hit by car in Tottori

Um, 3 and 5 year old kids should not be playing alone. Due to the irresponsibility of his parents this little boy has to live with the responsibility of the death of his sister. Nice work parents!

Ugh, it seems like there should be a separate section of the news for the unfortunate deaths of small children and the elderly in accidents and incidents. And JT posters can automatically voice their RIPs or moral outrage, without contributing to any meaningful discussion.

Children play in all the little streets of every town and village throughout Japan. One of the things that makes Japan great for children. Sounds more like a careless driver to me.

"Children play in all the little streets of every town and village throughout Japan" That's so unsafe and dangers for kids and drivers!

RIP little one! Where where your parents or caregiver?

I most definitely do not think it is the sole responsibility of the driver, but he will be blamed big time. No kid that young should be playing outside unsupervised. Japan is NOT safe anymore!

There never was a time or a place where a 3 year old and a five year old were safe to play outside without adult supervision. My blood runs cold at the thought of any child this age being outside alone, let alone near a road. These parents have been utterly feckless and their uselessness has led to this tragic death.

Poor driver, poor kids. Damn the person who was supposed to be looking after these kids to the torturing of knowing THEY are responsible for this. Who in their right mind allows a three and five year old out to play without supervision? Far too many in this country that do and this is what happens.

OMG... So Sad,,,,

playing nearby with her 5-year-old brother and were on their way home just after noon on Sunday

They weren't just playing alone, they were on their way home... Unbelievable... What planet are these parents living on...? Who let's 3 and 5 year olds walk home alone, let alone, play unsupervised...?

So sad :( What's even more sad is I bet the parents are gonna blame the 5-year old for not paying attention to his little sister...So heartbreaking...

There is no space for children to play outdoor. Hence ...

And I am shocked that still for many people the car rights overpass the children rights.

This kind of accidents could happen to me of course, however very often drivers are out of control when driving at too high speed in streets without visibility. I had been taught that as a driver I should be able to stop any time when something/someone is on the street. We are far away of that where I live in Tokyo. Not mentioning that none respect the pedestrian crossings either.

Once again why was a 3 years old in the street with no adults? And being with a 5 year old doesn't make it ok.

Another one of Japan's future bright spots snuffed out by an elderly driver. When will Japan's children start to be cherished and watched over like they should be?

Homeschooler:

There never was a time or a place where a 3 year old and a five year old were safe to play outside without adult supervision.

Wrong, there are many many examples where the street is with pedestrian priority and speed limit at 10 or 20 km/h. When in Europe, my kids play in the street at this age (3 y.o. is maybe a bit young but 5 y.o. not).

And it is not written in the article she was playing on the street.

What was the speed of the car? Without this info, this is impossible to make any judgment about the accident.

Open Minded

I agree drivers are often at fault too but you don't expect a 5 year old to look after a 3 year old walking home anywhere, let alone crossing a road of any kind. Playing in the street outside your house at 5 (what kind of road? a quiet one? with adult supervision?) is completely different.

Even on a quiet street inaccessible to cars or even bikes, a three and a five year old need and deserve the guidance and protection of a carer. There are many dangers to children this small, not just vehicles, and expecting them to be strong and sensible enough to take care of themselves and siblings is asking too much of them. A car or bike travelling at 20mph can still kill or maim a child, and lets face it some people break the speed limit. No matter what the speed of the car, the ONLY person to blame here is the parent in charge at the time.

In many other countries a parent would be charged with child neglect for allowing these children out alone.

As much as I dislike government intervention into the family, there needs to be parenting classes for first time parents.

The problem in my opinion is not the lack of sidewalks, its lack of care and desire of parents to be with children and supervise them. There are places to go with open spaces, even in the centre of Tokyo, and as long as a parent is accompanying them on the journey there, it is perfectly safe.

Ive seen children being allowed to hang off balconies and stair railings,unsupervised under 5's, and slightly older kids being used as babysitters. It is pure chance that those children do not have an accident on the balcony, stairs or road, nevermind the fact that they are bothering other people because their (in my opinion) lazy mother cannot be bothered to get out there and take her kids to the park and ensure their day to day safety and development.

I HOLD my young children's hands when we walk along the street, and make sure I am giving instructions to the older one to remind them to look and listen and wait for me to cross the street. The babies go on the inside always as we walk down the street. Its not rocket science. People shouldnt have children if they have no interest in being a parent.

Just a little culture shock to you guys 3 and 5 year old children go to and from home on a daily basis. They are taught maturity and responsibility long before we even quit wearing diapers. There is a difference between leaving kids alone, and elderly driving over them and not paying attention. The old man said so himself, do not be quick to judge these parents after they lost one of their children. It's not their fault there are no requal driving tests for the elderly.

There is a difference between leaving kids alone, and elderly driving over them and not paying attention. The old man said so himself, do not be quick to judge these parents after they lost one of their children. It's not their fault there are no requal driving tests for the elderly.

I guess you read a different news report than we have. In the one I read, the driver said he did not notice the three year-old. He DIDN'T say he was not paying attention.

Here's the things we don't know: If the girl was going home with her brother, why wasn't he hit as well? Wouldn't the driver have been more likely to notice a five year-old and three year-old walking together? This implies that the girl either darted into the street ahead of the boy, or lagged behind the boy. Given the driver's statement above, I would guess the former was true.

We don't know the visibility conditions on the street. Was the road lined with parked cars that a child could dart out from behind? Was the road narrow, requiring the driver to drive closer to obstructions than he normally would?

We ALSO don't know the speed the driver was driving at. Even if the car was only doing 10 Mph at impact, striking a three year-old can be fatal if they hit their head on the ground.

While the driver is almost definitely going to be charged, I would hold off on implying you could have done anything differently given the same circumstances.