In her 2017 book, "Thinking About Child Abuse,” Haru Sugiyama describes her correspondence with Yukihiro Saito, who is serving a lengthy sentence for causing the death of his 5-year-old son, Riku, in the mid-2000s through neglect. In his letters, Saito expresses regret, but also says his memories about the two years he took care of Riku after his wife left him are vague.
The boy starved to death and police didn't discover him until about seven years later, since Saito continued paying rent on the Atsugi property where the body was found. Before Saito’s first trial, the media portrayed him as a monster, but Sugiyama believes that such labels aren’t particularly helpful.
News organizations generally didn't mention Saito's financial situation or the fact that he had an intellectual disability. What he said in court was also not covered, and the prosecutor exploited the "brutal father" image the media had developed. It was a lay judge trial, meaning citizens who may have read the stories about Saito decided his fate.