Mother contests fatal neglect charge as trial opens over Inuyama girl's death
In short
A 35-year-old mother contested a charge of abandonment resulting in death at the opening of her trial in Nagoya on October 13 over her seven-year-old daughter's death in Inuyama in 2024. Her defence said she mistook the child's illness for constipation; prosecutors said she withheld medical care because she feared a report to child welfare authorities.
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Minami Shimazaki (島崎みなみ), 35, contested a charge of abandonment by a person responsible for care resulting in death when her trial opened at Nagoya District Court on October 13. The case concerns the death of her daughter, Nao Shimazaki (島崎奈桜), who was seven, in Inuyama, Aichi prefecture, in 2024. Japanese outlets reported that the defence argued she did not recognise that the child needed medical measures to survive. [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]
According to prosecutors' opening statement reported by Asahi, the child suffered repeated abdominal blows from the mother's partner, Gai Kurata (倉田凱), 34, on May 25, 2024, then complained of pain and vomited repeatedly. Prosecutors alleged that the mother left her without taking her to hospital and that she died the next day from septic shock. Kurata has been indicted on a charge of causing injury resulting in death. [ 4 ]
Prosecutors said the mother considered taking the child to hospital after seeing brown vomit but did not do so because she feared a report to child welfare authorities. The defence said she had misunderstood the symptoms as constipation, based on previous medical diagnoses, and believed drinks explained the colour. It also said she did not realise the child had been subjected to severe violence by her partner. [ 4 ]
The mother also faces an injury charge concerning an alleged abdominal assault in March 2024. The defence acknowledged assault but said the connection to vomiting and other injury symptoms had not been sufficiently established, Asahi and Nippon TV reported. Asahi said Kurata appeared as a witness but declined to discuss the circumstances of the child's death, saying he could not speak about them at that time. [ 4 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The trial examines whether the mother recognised that her daughter needed medical protection and the circumstances of alleged earlier injuries. Her defence acknowledged an assault in the earlier incident but disputed its causal link to injury, Japanese outlets reported.
Key facts
- The trial opened at Nagoya District Court on October 13. [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]
- The defence contested abandonment resulting in death, saying the mother did not recognise the child's condition as requiring medical intervention. [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]
- Prosecutors said the mother avoided hospital care because she feared a report to child welfare authorities. [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The mother's awareness of the need for medical care and the cause of injuries remain contested in the trial. Prosecutors said she recognised the need for care; the defence disputed that awareness and the causal link between an earlier assault and injury.