Photo/Illutration A house where the dead girl lived with her mother in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture (Shuichi Nimura)

SAITAMA--Saitama prefectural police on May 31 arrested a woman on charges of neglecting her 3-year-old daughter in late 2021 before she died from injuries to her brain. 

Nana Nagano, 31, who is unemployed and lives in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, knew her daughter suffered a broken bone but was negligent in providing care for her injuries, police said.

Police believe the girl was abused and will investigate the case further.

According to investigative sources, Nagano colluded with her 37-year-old then boyfriend whom she lived with, around the period from mid-December to late December 2021 and did not let the girl see a doctor even though she knew that she had suffered a fracture of her upper leg and could not walk.

Nagano worked at a karaoke parlor at the time and the girl did not go to a nursery. Police believe she suffered the broken bone at home.

Later, her then boyfriend noticed the girl’s abnormal condition and called for an ambulance.

The girl was treated at a hospital but died after a short time. She had injuries to her head and face.

Police believe that the child abuse started after Nagano started living with the man and the girl died within about a month after that.

Police and a child consultation center did not receive any reports about the girl’s injuries or abuse.

Police learned about the girl's injuries through a call from a hospital.

Police immediately arrested Nagano and the man for committing violence against the girl upon receiving the report.

The Saitama District Public Prosecutors Office in January filed bodily injury charges against them. The man in March died in a detention facility, which was likely a suicide.

According to health ministry, for 10 years through March 2020, there were 705 cases in which a child died after having been abused.

Local governments were aware of the 705 cases and a total of 804 deaths were counted.

Of the 705 cases, 99, or 14 percent, were unknown to local child consultation centers, local governments and police.

Fumiharu Yamagata, a professor at Kansai University, said that victims in many of such cases were a baby and toddler.

“It is important for residents to change the mentality,” he said. 

Yamagata also said implementing measures thoroughly and cooperating with the private sector is effective.

(This article was written by Ko Sendo, Shuichi Nimura and Tomoki Morishita.)

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