Although child welfare centers are increasingly sharing information on abuse cases with the police, the death of a neglected 5-year-old Shikoku girl in Tokyo shows such frameworks are not yet robust enough to prevent further tragedies from occurring.
Yua Funato died of sepsis brought on by pneumonia on March 2 after her mother and stepfather allegedly began abusing her in late January through violence and food deprivation. They were arrested last week on suspicion of neglect resulting in death.
Yudai Funato, 33, and his wife Yuri, 25, moved to Tokyo from Kagawa Prefecture in January and were living in an old apartment in Meguro Ward. Yudai Funato had been referred to prosecutors twice on suspicion of abusing the child several times in Kagawa, but both cases against him were dropped.