Couple arrested over death of 3-year-old boy in Kyoto

The father of a 3-year-old boy and a woman living with them in Nagaokakyo, Kyoto Prefecture, were arrested Monday over the death of the boy from suspected abuse, police said.

Takamasa Sasaki, 28, who works in the trucking business, and Tomoko Nishimura, 39, allegedly caused the death of Sasaki's son Takumu through neglect. The two have admitted to the allegations, investigation sources said.

Takumu was rushed to hospital on Sunday with multiple bruises on his face but died later. Police said the boy weighed only 7 kilograms, roughly half the average, and that an autopsy showed he starved to death.

During questioning on Sunday before her arrest, Nishimura admitted to having hit the boy since mid-September, police said. They quoted her as saying, "I did it to discipline him because he was still in diapers despite being 3 years old."

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

The father was aware of the abuse, police said.

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 and reported the case to a public juvenile counseling office.

The boy, his sister and his father had been living with the woman for about two and a half years, the police said.