2018 Tokyo child abuse case
In March 2018, Tokyo police arrested 33-year-old Yudai Funato after his 5-year-old stepdaughter, Yua Funato, died from sepsis and pneumonia. Police accused Yua's mother Yuri for negligence and Funato of torture and child abuse. Yua's mother was convicted and received an 8-year prison sentence.[1][2]
The trial against Funato began on Friday, October 4, 2019. He admitted most of the charges against him.[2]
The case gained nationwide notoriety and prompted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to pass harsher anti-child abuse laws.[3]
Background[edit]
As of the beginning of 2018, Yua was living with her mother, 25-year-old Yuri and Yuri's younger brother in Kagawa Prefecture before moving to a Tokyo apartment which they shared with a 33-year-old man named Yudai Funato, who had a son by himself. According to police, the girl was reported as to being mistreated and was placed under protective care twice while living in Kagawa Prefecture, and when Tokyo authorities wanted check the little girl in February 2018, her mother Yuri rebuffed the officials and they couldn't see her. Both police and child welfare authorities lost contact with her case from that point.
Torture and death of Yua Funato[edit]
After her mother moved into the Tokyo apartment with her younger brother,[2] the mistreatment of Yua by Yudai Funato worsened.[2] It is reported that the girl was brutally attacked by Funato multiple times, including punches, kicks, and deprivation of food.[4] Yua was also forced by Mr. Fanuatu to wake up at 4am in the morning after he allegedly taught her to read a clock. Whenever the girl fell asleep, Funato would react angrily by taking her to the shower and spraying cold water in her face and "punishing" her by giving her one meal a day.[2][4]
By January 2018, Yua's health rapidly deteriorated to the point of emaciation and registered a total of 170 injuries in her body. It is reported that Funato would grab her by the neck and lift her up multiple times a day. It was also proved that she was forced to apologize to Mr. Funato by writing sentences such as "Please Daddy Forgive Me", and "I promise not to play".[4]
It is alleged by the prosecution against Mr. Funato that he chose to not take her to a hospital due to fears of his mistreatment be exposed and the possibility of him being discovered.[5]
By early March 2018, the girl developed pneumonia and died from sepsis days later. After the case was reviewed, Funato and the girl's mother Yuri were arrested and charged with child abuse and negligence.[5][4]
Trial of Yuri and Yudai Funato[edit]
On Septemebr 3, 2019, Yuri Funato appeared before the Tokyo District Court and pleaded guilty to parental negligence. She reported she feared Mr. Funato and didn't dare to report the abuses. Her defense alleged that she had been psychologically manipulated by Mr. Funato and that she would not report because she feared retaliation from him.[6]
On September 17, 2019 she was sentenced to 8-years-in-prison.[1]
On Friday, October 4, 2019, the trial against Yudai Funato began and he was accused of neglect and child abuse, he admitted most of the charges but said that "he couldn't control himself as his anger grew". His preliminar hearing was rebuffed by a judge who told him that his "ideation of raising a bright family was far away from real as the girl was barely allowed to go outside" for the last days of her life.[2][5]
Reaction from politicians[edit]
Yua's death attracted nationwide attention and prompted Japan to pass revised laws in June 2019, banning parents and guardians from physically punishing children and strengthening the ability of child welfare centers to intervene in cases where abuse is suspected.[2][3]
In the wake of the discovery of the case as a case of child abuse, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to "eradicate child abuse in Japan".[3]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Mother handed 8-year prison term over Yua's violent death". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Man says he abused stepdaughter because efforts to discipline her didn't work". Japan Today. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Japan PM Abe pledges 'full-scale' efforts to eradicate child abuse in wake of girl's death". Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "'I promise not to play': Heartbreaking vow of girl, 5, 'disciplined to death'". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Failed disciplining turned to abuse, Yua Funato's accused stepfather tells Tokyo court". The Japan Times. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ↑ "Mother admits neglect in death of 5-year-old daughter; feared husband's reprisals". Japan Today. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
This article "2018 Tokyo child abuse case" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:2018 Tokyo child abuse case. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
