3-year-old boy dies from suspected abuse in Kyoto

A 3-year-old boy in Nagaokakyo, Kyoto Prefecture, was taken to a hospital on Sunday with multiple bruises on his face but later confirmed dead, local police said.

Police said the boy, identified as Takumu Sasaki, weighed only seven kilograms, roughly half the average. A 39-year-old woman who lives with him in a home in the city had called for an ambulance at around 11 a.m., saying, "The child looks limp and doesn't move."

Investigators are questioning the woman and the boy's father, a 28-year-old man who works in the trucking business, on suspicion of inflicting bodily injuries resulting in death and negligence as guardians resulting in death.

During questioning, the woman admitted to having hit the boy since mid-September, the police said, quoting her as saying, "I did it to discipline him because he was still on diapers in spite of being 3 years old."

She also said the boy had hardly been fed since late September and his father knew about it, according to police.

In March, a neighbor found the boy's 6-year-old sister roaming outside their home after midnight, the police said, adding that they found bruises on her body then and reported the case to a public juvenile counseling office.

The boy, his sister and father have lived with the woman for about two and a half years, they said.