June 10, 2020
Saki Kakehashi, 24, from Tokyo left her 3-year-old daughter alone for eight days early June, so she could visit her lover in Kagoshima Prefecture, which is 600 miles away from Tokyo. She was arrested on July 7, 2020.
By the time Kakehashi arrived back home, she discovered her baby was not breathing. She immediately called emergency services on June 13, according to The Japan Times. The 3-year-old daughter, named Noa died from dehydration and hunger.
Kakehashi told investigators she did not expect Noa to die and thought “it would be okay” to leave the baby alone in her apartment for a few days while she visited her lover. Both mother and daughter have been living in the apartment since July 2017, when Kakehashi divorced her husband, Noa’s father.
Further investigation showed Noa also had thymic atrophy, which is typically commonplace for abused or neglected children. Aside from dehydration, an empty stomach, Noa also had a rash on her bottom, which indicated her diaper was left unchanged for a very long time. The apartment was also packed with garbage.
Authorities also discovered Noa was never taken to the daycare center for over a year. Upon voluntary questioning, Kakehashi stated Noa had been ill for several days and she did not have the money to take her to the hospital. However, she did have enough money to pay for a two-hour flight to the southern tip of Japan to see her lover for eight days.
Kakehashi was arrested a month after Noa’s death. Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and its prisons are no jokes. Prisoners are constantly “rehabilitated” within the prison system. They are given a set schedule of sleep, work, and chores. Any deviation from those strict schedules down to the second is met with extreme punishments.
Feature Images via Asahi & The Japan Times