No really, what the hell is happening in society?
Just as I was starting to write this entry on a particular news story, another one comes in that is equally as likely to make you think “What the…”. First off, remember not to point at ANYONE in Japan. Doesn’t matter who you are or why you did it, you could get run down, as these kids can testify:
Man held for attempted murder after driving car into schoolchildren in Chiba
Monday 02nd June, 03:10 PM JST
CHIBA - A 32-year-old man was arrested on Monday morning for intentionally driving his car into a group of schoolchildren, aged 6 to 10, who were on their way to school in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture. Three children were taken to hospital with injuries, police said.
Tsuyoshi Minaminaka, 32, a plumber, was charged with attempted murder in the incident which took place around 7:40 a.m. The suspect told police he got angry after some of the children pointed their fingers at him. According to police, he drove past the children, then turned around and plowed into them.
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My first reaction was shock that this guy didn’t come from Saitama, as that’s where a large proportion of the nutters come from in Japan though. I’m going for the trifecta though, and will predict that he’s single, living at home with his parents, and will keep his driving licence. I mean, how thin-skinned and weak have you got to be to be so offended by some kids pointing their finger at you that you stop your car, turn it around and mow right through them? This wasn’t just an instinctive thing of him turning his car into them. To take them time to stop and turn around requires some thought process and pre-meditation. He must be on some medication, or rather should be but isn’t willing to go to the doctor’s about his condition or take the medicine that is needed for it. As someone on a news website commented, “in most regards Japan is very safe, but the care in the community brigade are a danger”. I can understand this, especially after hearing a few stories recently about the areas surrounding my hometown. Apparently, the neighbouring town to mine has the highest proportion of crazies in all of Okinawa. What seems to happen is that quite a few of them are born there (currently for reasons unknown) and the sane people all leave. What we’re left with is a kind of town of the nutters type of thing. Maybe something you would expect from a bad horror film. Anyway, it’s pretty shocking but no doubt we’ll hear very little follow-up from this over the next few days. If we do I’ll be sure to report back. Something for you all to ponder: can you imagine if this had been a foreigner (and let’s heighten it all by saying a US Marine!) who had turned his car round and run into a bunch of Okinawan primary school kids?! I really cannot even contemplate the reaction it would cause.
The second story seems to be the latest in a line of parents having absolutely no idea how to care for their young children.
2-yr-old boy drowns in drain while parents are in comic cafe
Monday 02nd June, 01:58 PM JST
MIYAZAKI - A 2-year-old boy apparently drowned in a drain along a street in Osaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture, on Sunday afternoon, while his parents were in a comic cafe, police said Monday.
Riku Endo, 2, was found drowned in the drain by his parents around 3:20 p.m. after they lost sight of him while they were in the comic cafe. Police said the family came to the game center where the cafe is located and believe Riku wandered off while his parents were reading comics in the cafe. Riku is believed to have accidentally fallen into the 70cm-wide and 55cm-deep drain. He was taken to hospital but died about two hours later.
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First of all, many of you may be unaware of what a comic cafe is. Put simply, it is like a huge library with stacks and stacks of Manga (Japanese comics) where you can go, relax, drink tea and get your fill of Pokemon, Dragonballz or whatever else you like. Once you pay to get in, the drinks and snacks are often free so they are popular with some people. Right, now onto the story itself. Surely at this time, the parents would have realised that young kids are interested in everything and prone to walk off. As far as I know, they’re hardly Olympic sprinters at that age too. So this kid has walked/toddled off, gone out of the shop and proceeded to fall into a drain without the parents noticing and anyone else seeing. Surely if you see a kid walking around on their own at that age, your reaction is to keep an eye on them to make sure no harm comes to them. I know given the current world climate, picking them up yourself could result in a criminal charge of kidnapping, attempted abduction and God knows what else, but you would just take a minute to watch what they are doing and if anyone is looking after them.
But the parents had their comics to read, so how could they possibly watch a child at the same time? Looking at the adventures of Pikachu is far more important than looking after your own child, surely? I am sure the company that owns the drain will offer some condolence money as the blame will likely be put on them, but it doesn’t take a genius to work out who should be shouldering the responsibility of taking care of this child.
This, like the suicides, seems to be an all too common occurrence. Letting your toddler fall into drains while you read comics, leaving your kid in a car in the sun while you go and play pachinko… stories like this are becoming very regular. Is it that parents don’t know how to look after their kids, that they think they can look after themselves, or that they see them as some expendable product that they can simply re-acquire should something go wrong? The latter would certainly seem to be the case when you look at how many kids are not strapped into cars and instead just jump around between the front passenger seat, the rear seats and climbing on the driver of the car.
Sad, sad stories…
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