Newsflash: Child Found in Kumamoto Baby Hatch

There isn’t anything online about it yet, but TV news just reported that a child has been found in the “baby hatch” of Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto Prefecture. According to the report, the child was a boy somewhere between 3 and 4-years-old. The child isn’t exactly a baby, so this a somewhat unexpected development. More information as it becomes available…..

Update 1: More from Mainichi:

The boy was left at the drop-off point at Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto at about 3 p.m. on May 10 after it was opened earlier in the day.

The boy told his name to hospital officials, adding that he was three years old. “My father accompanied me here,” he was quoted as saying. The boy is reportedly healthy.

Update 2: From Kyodo News…

The Jikei Hospital in the city of Kumamoto has notified Kumamoto prefectural police and other authorities, the source said.

Police are investigating whether the boy’s case constitutes an illegal act of parental abandonment.

Dennis_Mahon

God help us.
Leif

Heh, I wondered how soon this would happen… (The drop-off being a child and not a baby)
Syd

Sorry.. that was me. I just couldn’t take any more of that student!!!!
His parents might be looking for him later. :p
http://www.transpacificradio.com/ Garrett

This actually does bring some up some pretty interesting legal questions, a la Peter Singer’s legal abortion until the age of two.

At what age is a baby no longer a baby? When it can talk? When it can walk? What about developmentally delayed kids?
http://www.japaneconomynews.com Ken

Further to Garrett’s comment, is it legal to leave a radio show co-host in one of those things?
http://www.jumppoint.org Alex

I am not suprised this happened actually. I know as many out there do first hand how difficult it is to raise a child. But in my mind, its not possible to make a distinction between a “Baby Drop off” and a “child abandoning center”. They really are one in the same in my view.

Is anyone really suprised this happened?

I agree with Garrett that it does bring up legal questions about this entire system. But really, its quite sad that this exsists in the first place.
wes

is he not allowed to give him up for adoption some other way?
http://eleclutier.blogspot.com Elec

I like that this was the FIRST ‘baby’ of the whole project.
http://japanese.libsyn.com/ Alex Brooke

I read in the paper this morning that the child knew the fathers’s name but was too young to know his address. The police decided not to search for the father and prosecute because, technically, the baby was not in any physical danger during the process.

In this case, emotional abuse or neglet didn’t seem to be a legal issue.

In my opinion, although it would be better for this kid to end up in the “baby post box” rather than a dumpster, letting this happen might be setting a dangerous precedent in the future. This happened in Kumamoto, a place with a relatively low population but imagine if this was introduced to Tokyo.

This was a rare case but the fact the baby post exists suggests that this is a big problem in Japan. It seems a shame that parents under intollerable conditions who can’t cope don’t know where to turn in Japan.

At least that is my take on it. correct me if I am wrong.
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Newsflash: Child Found in Kumamoto Baby Hatch

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