Simon Foston comments

ChabbawangaToday  08:56 am JST

 "I want to know how relatives, friends and healthcare professionals, not to mention the biological fathers, could all be oblivious to the killer's mental state and obvious need for support."

Probably too busy messing about on their iphones, and pretending they have overtime.

Which makes them a bit responsible, don't you think?

RareReasonToday  08:58 am JST

"I want to know how relatives, friends and healthcare professionals, not to mention the biological fathers, could all be oblivious to the killer's mental state and obvious need for support."

Someone willing to smash their own baby's head in will do so whether support was available or not.

Hrm. I take it that's your expert, professional opinion. So her partner, relatives and friends could have been doing all they could for her, and she would still have carried this baby to term intending all the while to murder him?

ChabbawangaToday  06:48 am JST

Another fantastic parent for the gallows. No mercy for child murderers

Get serious. You know that's not going to happen.

I want to know how someone could somehow be raised to feel so little empathy, compassion or nurturing instincts that their first reaction to seeing their own newborn is to kill it. I want to know how relatives, friends and healthcare professionals, not to mention the biological fathers, could all be oblivious to the killer's mental state and obvious need for support. I don't know if it's ignorance or indifference, but as there have been a lot of these appalling stories whatever it is seems to be pretty deeply ingrained into the culture here. Understand the problem and start to do something about it so other babies are protected before blabbering on about "gallows."

Mr KiplingAug. 5  06:13 pm JST

Just like Jimmy Saville, he had connections so the authorities had to wait until he died.

They didn't have to wait, they just didn't have the guts to look into anything involving anyone powerful and important.

It doesn't matter how low his ratings slide as long as there's no opposition party that looks like a viable alternative to the LDP.

OssanAmericaToday  09:31 am JST

This is a criminal matter within Japan and it's legal jurisdiction.

That means "it is legal jurisdiction," which doesn't mean anything at all. Anyway, everyone knows that the Japanese authorities couldn't be bothered doing anything about it.

Of what business is it of the UN Human Rights Council?

I take it Japan is proud to be a member of the UN and profess respect and support for its institutions, so what do you think?

*Does the UN investigate every criminal case in the world?*

Just ones that have been egregiously overlooked or mishandled by incompetent or corrupt local authorities, apparently.

I really wonder how much Damilola Olawuyi received in his offshore account from China.

I daresay you do as you appear to be obsessed with China.

roninroshiToday  09:39 am JST

PM Kishida needs to spend a lot more time in Japan fixing serious issues here rather than hanging out with the WEF, G-7 and world leaders who could careless about Japan!

Fixing serious issues in Japan isn't really in the LDP's mission statement. Apart from anything else it would imply that it was the LDP who let them become serious issues in the first place.

BlacklabelToday  09:13 am JST

And yet:

“CNN Poll; Percentage of Republicans who think Biden's 2020 win was illegitimate ticks back up near 70%”

Well that's an eye-opener, isn't it. You'll be telling us most Republicans support 2nd Amendment rights and small government next.

BlacklabelToday  07:40 am JST

I’m amused as Trump will just fundraise another 50 million...

I imagine Donald Trump is amused too.

MocheakeToday  11:35 am JST

The government is only half-interested and are looking for positive results but the test is based on years of improper or flawed techniques and the Japanese oyajis who are in charge probably can't speak the language well either. Nothing will change because that stubbornness is a big part of the culture, like sending kids to juku all year and expecting geniuses to come filing out.

I have a suspicion that they are reluctant to change much because that would be a tactic admission they have been doing everything wrong this whole time. They can't point to another party and blame them for messing everything up when they were in charge, because it's pretty much been one party in power the whole time.

Newgirlintown

Today 07:41 am JST

Pity the person who has to ask the questions over and over again. What’s your name? What’s your favorite food? Can you use chopsticks? Oops, that last one was from the ask a foreigner test.

They weren't getting those kinds of questions. That's the real problem. Clueless bureaucrats with absurd blue sky expectations.

The English speaking portion of the test comprised five questions, including one in which students watched a video about environmental issues and then provided answers in English, which included expressing their thoughts. Their responses were recorded on digital devices and sent to the ministry.

PaulToday  08:34 am JST

That is absolutely disgusting, considering how many years they supposedly learn English!!! I can't call that learning!!! What would someone say to a 12% correct answers to math questions? One would be called an idiot or mentally retarded!

Did you read this?

"With a majority of students unable to correctly answer a single speaking question, some experts say the curriculum is too advanced and that the way the questions are formulated is ill-suited to the task of assessing students' language skills."

I don't think it's the kids who are the idiots here.

Fighto!Today  07:31 am JST

Let's be honest - a good percentage of these kids will be able to get by perfectly into the future without a lick of English.

Whether they need it or not they are not getting it from their English classes. The teachers are actually keen to do what they can, but they're hamstrung by the Ministry of Education and local boards of education enforcing a curriculum that has nothing to do with actually developing English ability.

MToday  06:18 pm JST

PROTECTING THE MOTHER AND CHILDREN, ARE THE THREE ARE ALIVE ?

°

You don’t know abusive husband and father.

Neither do you. Or do you have any actual details to share as opposed to what you think he probably did?

In my experience, it is better the children are left only in the mother’s custudy. 

You have a lot of experience then?

AntiquesavingToday  04:59 pm JST

I will bet few if any here actually have had to deal with divorce and child custody.

Oh will you now. I recommend putting toothpicks, poker chips or Monopoly money on that bet.

commanteerToday  01:54 pm JST

No you haven't, in other words.

Assumptions. There is a limit to what I will share in public, even pseudonymously.

Comments such as "I know people who. ." do rather invite assumptions.

"Have you considered the possibility that is likely to make the situation worse? People who suggest staying in a toxic marriage for the sake of the children should keep in mind studies that indicate the children are likely to grow up with feelings of low self-esteem and insecurity, difficulty trusting others and forming happy relationships themselves,"

The problem with such studies is that they can only guess how the children would turn out otherwise. Without the spouse to attack, some parents will turn their behavior toward the children, who will already feel abandoned by their parent who left. Sorry if this describes your situation - there are no easy decisions here

No, it doesn't describe my situation. As I see it unless parents are prepared to stay together and work on having a happy marriage none of the options are good. Staying in a loveless failed marriage that is guaranteed to end acrimoniously and give children an upbringing filled with animosity and recriminations strikes me as one of the worst.

wallaceToday  12:07 pm JST

I have the case of a Japanese friend, married with two young boys. Now about 9/10 years. The husband had an affair and divorced his wife. Then remarried. He went to court to have custody of only the oldest boy because eventually, he will take over his father's position at some shrine.

Stands to reason if the judge perceives the father to be a hereditary pillar of society.

The father was given custody of the oldest boy and the mother the youngest one. 

If it were anyone else I suspect the mother would end up with both of them, and the father would be free to forget any of them ever existed. I suspect a lot of Japanese men are quite happy with this arrangement and that judges are baffled by foreign fathers who want to have anything to do with their kids after they get divorced.

commanteerToday  09:34 am JST

"But you haven't actually been in such a situation yourself?"

Let's put it this way:

No you haven't, in other words.

If your partner is so awful to be around that you can't stand to be around them, how could you imagine divorcing and leaving your kids to handle that person all by themselves? The worse the person is the more you have to stay to offer some protection to the children.

Have you considered the possibility that is likely to make the situation worse? People who suggest staying in a toxic marriage for the sake of the children should keep in mind studies that indicate the children are likely to grow up with feelings of low self-esteem and insecurity, difficulty trusting others and forming happy relationships themselves, and a tendency to blame themselves for their parents being miserable because otherwise they would be happily out of each others' lives.

The only exception would be if you could they are unfit and ensure sole custody for yourself.

Good luck with that in Japan if you're the father.

C..they could care less about...

That actually means they do care a bit but it's possible for them not to care at all.

The correct phrase is "couldn't care less" which means they don't care at all at the moment so caring less is impossible.

Or is this some irritating colloquial thing like "I don't know nothing"?

commanteerToday  08:37 am JST

"Don't get divorced or at least wait until kids are in high school"

This true. I know people who have weathered truly awful partners just to be there for their children.

But you haven't actually been in such a situation yourself?

falseflagsteveJuly 25  11:08 pm JST

Probably win the next election easily anyway, lol

Of course they will, because of the low voter turn out, the vote-value disparity between urban and rural areas that heavily favours LDP candidates in the countryside, and the fact that the LDP is the only party with enough candidates for every constituency.

njca4

Today 09:58 am JST

Don't gloss over the DPJ's failings.

Sorry, what have the DPJ got to do with anything? The party is gone, and the people most closely associated with it have vanished into obscurity. It looks like you're trying to get the LDP off the hook with the old "look what happened last time the other lot got in" line, but problems with the opposition parties have more to do with inherent weaknesses in the electoral system that are in the LDP's interests to do nothing about.

Ricky Kaminski13July 18  01:24 pm JST

I’m just trying to think to myself, which could do the most damage? An out of touch old geezer so set in his ways it hurts, or some young J pop idol looking populist that knows literally nothing of the world ( beyond the perfect haircut ) nor has any experience in it, but for some mysterious reason believes he can and should run a country!

It’s a fairly close call!

It's not close at all. The pop idol lookalike is highly unlikely to run for office, or be able to do a whole lot even if he does get elected. The good ol'boy is much more likely to get elected and appointed to a cabinet position, and wreck the country even further by doing nothing useful at all.

The other main limit is financial. If you can't get your hands on ¥20 million every few years or so forget about a career in national politics.

earsayToday  10:18 am JST

And yet just watch his government comfortably win the next election. If only the dissatisfied voted. (Sigh)

One of the reasons they don't vote is that there is often quite literately no viable alternative. It's not like in the US where if you don't like the Democrats you can always vote Republican; in Japan the main opposition party can't field candidates everywhere, and the only choice is between the LDP and independents or candidates from minor parties who everyone knows will never be in government.

As the number of House of Representatives seats in the western Japan prefecture will be reduced to three from four as part of the nationwide electoral district revision...

Good. Clearly the fewer Diet members people from Yamaguchi get to elect the better.

TaiwanIsNotChinaJuly 3  11:52 am JST

Japan's problems may be insurmountable so why not go on a few vacations?

Because it's kind of his job as an elected and highly-paid head of government to solve them?

Can you just go off on holiday if you have a problem at work?

The first sentence says it all really:

In a bid to shore up support for his cabinet ahead of a possible general election...

It's not to get the abductees back or improve relations with North Korea or defuse tension in the region, it's just to win an election. That's all the LDP are really about.

Ricky Kaminski13July 3  11:53 am JST

Remember to ask yourself, what exactly have YOU done to make the world a better place?

Nothing that compares with jetting around the world at the taxpayer's expense making speeches that don't achieve a whole lot.

The Japan Innovation Party, founded in 2015, has 41 seats in the lower house but aim boost that tally in the next election.

"Our goal is to contest all 289 electoral districts," Baba said.

Someone needs to.

I get all the outrage directed at this couple, they deserve all of it, but.. this kind of horrific story is not uncommon at all. Where's the outrage about the culture of leaving single mothers to get on with things by themselves, and institutionalised indifference to the suffering of their children.

This couple could have been stopped, just like so many others like them. They are not the only ones responsible for what happens to these children. This culture and the people who uphold it bear a heavier responsibility.