The Fukuoka District Court in January sentenced a 34-year-old mother to six years in prison for causing bodily injury resulting in her daughter's death, casting the spotlight anew on child abuse.
The 5-year-old was the target of incessant abuse, including confinement in a washing machine and being tied to a bookshelf in what the mother called "child discipline."
"The pain of having her life taken at the age of 5 due to outrageous abuse by the mother — who was in a position to protect her and raise her — is unimaginable," the district court judge said when handing down the ruling. The mother told the court she was "filled with regret" over her actions.