Category: Location: Japan

Teruko Fujiwara

Concrete bridge and white railing above water. A bunch of yellow flowers has been left at the curb.
Flowers left for Teruko Fujiwara at the scene of her death.

Name: Teruko Fujiwara.
Died: November 2, 2022.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Oiso, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Ms. Fujiwara’s husband had been her caregiver for 40 years since she was injured and started using a wheelchair. The two were planning to enter an assisted-living facility, and Ms. Fujiwara was looking forward to it. But her husband did not want to accept help; he took her to the pier and pushed her out of her wheelchair and into the ocean, where she drowned. Police say he admitted to the murder, saying he was “worn out” from looking after her.

Ms. Fujiwara leaves behind two grown sons.

Case Status:
Hiroshi Fujiwara (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to 3 years.

Sources:
Obsession to care for disabled wife by himself led man to kill her
Husband, 82, gets 3 years in drowning death of paralyzed wife
81-year-old Japanese man arrested for murder after pushing wife’s wheelchair into sea
81-yr-old man in Japan arrested for allegedly killing wife he took care of for 40 yrs
Man accused of pushing wife in wheelchair into sea, killing her
Man, 81, pushes wheelchair-bound wife, 79, into the sea as he was ‘too tired of taking care of her’

Megumi Yamada

No PhotoName: Megumi Yamada.
Died: April 13, 2022.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Naka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.

Details:
Megumi’s mother turned up at the police station and allegedly confessed to killing her, saying that she was “tired of taking care of” Megumi. Police investigated and found Megumi dead in her home; she had been strangled and smothered with plastic wrap.

Case Status:
Fumiko Yamada (Mother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Japan woman arrested for allegedly attempting to kill ‘bedridden’ daughter who later died
‘I’m tired of taking care of her’: Japanese woman, 68, surrenders after suffocating bedridden daughter

Toyoko Amano

No PhotoName: Toyoko Amano.
Died: February 13, 2022.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Osaka, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.

Details:
Police say Toyoko’s husband called police and admitted to strangling her. When they went to her home, they found her dead and arrested her husband.

Case Status:
Seiji Amano (Husband), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sources:
80-year-old man arrested over bedridden wife’s murder

Yoshihito and Yoshio Ohashi

No PhotoName: Yoshihito Ohashi.
Age at death: 32.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.

Name: Yoshio Ohashi.
Age at death: 65.
Disability: Stroke.

Died: November 17, 2021.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Asahi, Chiba, Japan.

Details:
Yoshihito and Yoshio, father and son, died in a house fire. Police arrested their wife and mother, who they say confessed to setting the fire because she was tired of caring for them.

Case Status:
Toshiko Ohashi (Wife/Mother), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sources:
Woman arrested over arson-murders of bedridden husband, son
Bu nasıl anne? Yatalak oğlunu ve kocasını diri diri yakarak öldürdü
Yatalak hasta oğlunu ve eşini öldürmek için evini yaktı
Idosa presa pelo incêndio criminoso e homicídio do marido e filho
Woman held over murders of husband, son to undergo psychiatric evaluation

Shuji Sugisawa

No PhotoName: Shuji Sugisawa.
Died: July 7, 2021.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Broken neck.
Location: Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Wheelchair user.

Details:
Mr. Sugisawa died of a broken neck. Police say his son admitted to them that he had grabbed his father and shaken him violently, and that he had abused his father before by deliberately burning him.

Case Status:
Tatsuya Sugisawa (Son), arrested.

Sources:
Man arrested over death of 93-year-old father in 2021

Naomi Kaneko

No PhotoName: Naomi Kaneko.
Died: March 5, 2021.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, Japan.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, wheelchair user.

Details:
Naomi died from stab wounds to the head and torso. Police say that her aide, with whom she had been in a relationship, called them and admitted that he had “stabbed someone”.

Case Status:
Koichi Katayama (Boyfriend, aide), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Source:
Man arrested over murder of disabled woman in Tokyo apartment

Nanako Tokutani

No PhotoName: Nanako Tokutani.
Died: February 13, 2021.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Kawakami, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Police found Nanako’s body floating in a lake, and her father, soaked with water, in his car in the parking lot. He allegedly kidnapped her from her special needs school, took her to the lake, and drowned her. He told police that his daughter’s disability was “a burden to [his] wife” and that he wanted to “escape this life”.

Case Status:
Kazuhiko Tokutani (Father), suspected of murder.

Source:
Nara: Man killed disabled 10-year-old daughter ‘to escape this life’
Man arrested in Nara Prefecture allegedly killed disabled daughter “to escape this life”

Teru Inaba

No Photo
Name: Teru Inaba.
Died: February 2, 2021.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Tokyo, Japan.
Disability: Cognitive impairment; bedridden.

Details:
Ms. Inaba’s adult child allegedly punched her several times in the face, and she died from her injuries. Police said they reported being “tired of caring for her”.

Case status:
Megumi Inaba (Offspring), charged with murder.

Source:
Tokyo: Man, 52, accused in fatal assault of disabled mother
Woman arrested over death of 83-year-old disabled mother
Megumi Inaba’s gender is not consistent in news reports. –Ed.

Saburo Sato

No PhotoName: Saburo Sato.
Died: December 30, 2020.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Injuries from assault.
Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Mr. Sato’s son is accused of beating him in the head and stomach; police say he admitted to the charge, saying he had “lost patience” with his father due to his dementia. When Mr. Sato lost consciousness, his son called emergency services, but he was declared dead at the hospital.

Case status:
Seiichi Sato (Son), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Source:
Man, 44, accused of fatally assaulting senile father in Yokohama
Man arrested over murder of 73-year-old father

Mr. Mukai

No PhotoName: Mukai (Family name; given name unknown).
Died: December 2020.
Age at death: 51.
Cause of death: Insulin overdose.
Location: Osaka, Japan.
Disability: Diabetes.

Details:
Mr. Mukai’s wife gave him an overdose of insulin, which he had not been prescribed, causing him to fall into a coma. He remained hospitalized until he died the next year.

Case Status:
Shizuka Mukai (Wife), convicted of murder, sentenced to 15 years.

Sources:
Court rejects appeal of woman jailed for 15 years for killing husband with insulin overdose
A 48-year-old woman arrested in Osaka for suspected murder or insulin administration to her husband Osaka