Fathers of babies in Japan who die of abuse on day of birth rarely identified

From The Mainichi

March 9 2024

TOKYO – In Japan, 176 babies died on their day of birth due to abuse between 2003 and 2022, but even basic facts such as the ages of their fathers were rarely known, with the blame frequently pinned solely on mothers.

According to statistics from the Children and Families Agency, all 176 babies were born outside of a medical facility, and 161 had their bodies dumped. The place of abandonment was the mother’s home in 79 cases and other places in 82 cases.

Excluding “other” and “unknown,” 115 babies were born at home, of which the most common place was the restroom for 44 births, followed by the bathroom for 11. Forty-three babies were born outside the home.

The cause of their death was strangulation or suffocation in 64 cases and neglect after birth in 29 cases. The biological mother was the perpetrator in 165 cases, while the involvement of the biological father was noted in only 10 cases.

The mothers were mostly young, with 48 being 19 years old or younger. Four mothers’ ages were unknown. In contrast, 97 fathers’ ages were unknown, and 36 were even classified as “none” or “unknown” because they were dead, missing or serving time in prison. Of the 43 fathers whose age could be ascertained, the most common age groups were 40 or older and 19 or younger, both with 13 fathers.

Ten experts who reviewed the statistics, including university professors, summarized, “In many cases, mothers were unable to discuss their pregnancies with their partners and gave birth without receiving appropriate support, resulting in the death of their children.”

In countless cases, women lacking necessary support who have given birth to a baby are arrested for murder or for abandoning the baby’s body. On the other hand, men who are the fathers are almost never arrested. A senior prefectural police official said, “The questioning of these men is voluntary. If they refuse a DNA test to determine the parent-child relationship, we cannot perform it.”

Fumihiko Kawasaki, 72, director of the Children’s Rainbow Center training facility, in Yokohama, for child consultation center staff has been verifying cases of deaths of newborn babies. “The numbers show the presence of irresponsible men. Women who have been pushed into a corner have become the perpetrators,” he said.

Expert assumes ‘borderline intellectual functioning’ in the background

Yasunari Okino, 47, a psychiatrist in Kumamoto Prefecture, psychiatrically evaluated five women aged 22 to 32 at the time they were arrested for allegedly abandoning or murdering their babies following births at home or in public restrooms between 2018 and 2023. He pointed out that mild intellectual disabilities and “borderline intellectual functioning,” or slightly lower intellectual capacity but not intellectual disability, were involved.

An intelligence quotient (IQ) between 85 and 114 is considered to be in the average range. Meanwhile, an IQ below 70 is generally considered to indicate intellectual disability. According to Okino, one of the five women had mild intellectual disability and four had IQs between 70 and 84, falling in the “borderline intellectual functioning” between what is considered “average” and what is considered “disability.”

Those who fall into this borderline category are not good at studying or communicating with others, are easily isolated, and in many cases, are weak at planning, keeping a job and managing finances. People with mild intellectual disabilities also tend to be similar, and Okino said that these characteristics “are considered ‘personalities’ by those around them, and they have difficulty getting support.”

About 14% of Japan’s population, or 17 million people, are statistically considered to fall into this borderline category.

At the trial of a 28-year-old woman who gave birth to babies in 2018 and 2021 and has been accused of murder and abandoning their bodies, Okino explained that she “has difficulty objectively identifying her problems, telling people about them in words, and acting on any advice she receives.” He also stated that the “lack of a sense of responsibility on the part of the man” whom she was dating was one of the factors that led to the incident. The psychiatrist also believes that it is unreasonable to hold the woman solely responsible.