(Update) Nagoya Prosecutors Urged to Deem Girl, Hinami, Born Severely Disabled after Accident as Victim

By Barrier Free Japan, Jiji

September 3 2025

Ichinomiya, Aichi Pref – The bereaved family of a pregnant woman who died after being struck by a vehicle in central Japan has urged prosecutors to recognize her daughter, born after the accident with a severe disability, as a victim. 

In the accident, 31-year-old Sayaka Togitani, who was due to give birth one and a half months later, was struck by a mini vehicle from behind while walking along the roadside in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, on May 21 and died in hospital two days later. Her daughter, Hinami was delivered via emergency cesarean section but suffered fetal hypoxia, which left her with a severe disability.

A 50-year-old driver was arrested on the spot and was indicted in June for negligent driving resulting in Sayaka’s death.

The family visited the Ichinomiya branch of the Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office on Tuesday and requested that the suspect, who has been indicted for negligent driving resulting in the death of the mother, also be charged with negligent driving resulting in the injury of the daughter, Hinami. Prosecutors said further investigation was needed into the causal link between Hinami’s condition and the accident.

It remains to be seen whether prosecutors will determine they can press the injury charge, as a fetus is considered a part of the mother’s body under the Criminal Code. The driver, aged 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, the driver admitted the charges and tearfully apologized.

“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.”