Family Seeks Recognition of Baby, Made Severely Disabled in Utero, as Victim in Ichinomiya Fatal Accident

By Barrier Free Japan

September 3 2025

ICHINOMIYA, Aichi Pref – The family of a woman killed in a traffic accident is calling for her newborn daughter, who was left severely disabled, to also be recognized as a victim.

NHK reported that in May, Sayaka Togitani, 31, who was nine months pregnant, was struck from behind by a car while walking in Ichinomiya. She died shortly after giving birth by cesarean section to her daughter, Hinami, who now lives with a severe brain injury and requires a ventilator.

The driver, Naoko Kono, 50, has been indicted for negligent driving resulting in death, but no charges were filed in relation to Hinami, as she was still a fetus at the time of the accident. On September 2, Sayaka’s husband, Yudai, submitted a petition with over 112,000 signatures to prosecutors demanding that Hinami also be treated as a victim.

At the first hearing, held the same day at the Nagoya District Court’s Ichinomiya branch, Kono admitted the charges and tearfully apologized. Prosecutors said further investigation was needed into the causal link between Hinami’s condition and the accident.

Past court rulings have recognized crimes against babies injured or killed after being delivered following accidents, though legal experts note that Japanese criminal law generally does not treat fetuses as persons. The family hopes their case will help bring change.

“My daughter’s name wasn’t in the indictment at all,” Yudai said at a press conference. “I want to show that her life—the life my wife left behind—can be a force for change.”