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AIBU?

To think that something does not seem right with the parents' story of the boy missing in Japan

106 replies

awfullyproper · 31/05/2016 23:20

The story as theyve told is horrendous, but they've already lied once. Did they really just go for 5 minutes? How come he didn't run after them?

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CallarMorvern · 03/06/2016 22:52

I also think cultural parenting differences. My friend is French, but lives in the UK, she talks of friends punishing their young children by forcing them to stand under cold showers, or being locked out in rainstorms etc. Apparently this is OK?! And I won't even go into some of the American parenting stuff that appears on my Facebook.

tanukiton · 03/06/2016 22:26

I have been in Japan for about 10 years and have kids here. A positive read on what happened is this. 1 the father loves his kid. Why? because is actually spending time with him on the weekend in the park and not off doing something else which some fathers are like here. 2 A lot of parents threaten the ' i will leave you up a mountain for the ogres to get you.' This is very common and if i did a poll of my kids friends most of them would have had this said to them at some point. 3 He was trying to discipline his child for throwing rocks at cars. Again if he didn t love his kid then he would just let him get on and throw shit. 4 I guess the kid could here the helicopters and sirens and still hid. BEFORE you all lay in to me I do NOT agree with what he did and would not do what he did BUT the parenting here is different. stuff that would be considered getting the social services in the UK is kind of accepted. saying all that he is an idiot for not knowing his son. I also feel a bit positive that he is taking the blame and no one is blaming the mother which is the nor mal media reaction in the uk. I think she was also in the car. Again this is a positive spin, back to the darkside :)

toffeeboffin · 03/06/2016 13:33

Definitely something weird with this.

He was found just three miles away? Surely they would have searched the disused army barracks already?

TheNewStatesman · 03/06/2016 13:24

It sounds like we have a kid with substantial behavioral problems and parents who are impulsive and disorganized but not evil or abusive. I am guessing that, having been ground down by a lot of shitty behavior by the kid, something snapped and they chose to do something really stupid.

I hope that child welfare services will be sitting down with the family and working out some of the many issues that are going on here.

DumbDailyMail · 03/06/2016 12:04

Gosh, some posters love to imagine the worst. Perhaps it's a bit of a boring idea but perhaps the parents did just leave the boy for a very short while to scare him for throwing stones and he ran off. Not the best bit of parenting but hardly abusive.

I love how some posters think they can 'read' more into a story than the details given. I hope the posters who were assuming the parents had killed the boy feel a bit

It's a bit like the lad who fell into the gorilla pit. Again, it's a major parenting fail but it's not like they threw him there.

blindsider · 03/06/2016 11:05

8oK

I think you are right it is a cultural thing.

80Kgirl · 03/06/2016 10:57

Is anyone familiar with Japanese culture? I am not. I do remember reading many, many years ago that Japanese parents might lock an unruly teen out of the house rather than grounding them (as we would in the West) as a punishment. I wonder if this behaviour on the part of the parents that is so shocking to us is some sort of variant of that sort of thinking.

MyKingdomForBrie · 03/06/2016 10:57

The father did apologise to his son. I definitely think there's something dodgy about this story.

brodchengretchen · 03/06/2016 10:44

We have no need to hang, draw and quarter the parents (leaving the child in care I suppose), they are Japanese, the loss of face will be devastating.

There but for the grace of god go others, anyway.

AugustaFinkNottle · 03/06/2016 10:43

And the father's "apology" contained not one word of apology to his son for abandoning him.

Surely that's something to be said directly to the boy, not the world's press?

BaboonBottom · 03/06/2016 10:40

Thank god he's safe, he must have been petrified!

My 7 year old thinks he would be ok, Im less convinced

stopfuckingshoutingatme · 03/06/2016 10:31

I believe it

I can easily imagine a discipline crazy and angry dad leaving the 7 year old by the road to teach him a lesson, and then its fucks up disastrously

I am SO pleased that lil bean is alive though

here ends this tale

lifesalongsong · 03/06/2016 10:23

How can you be so sure that the authorities in Japan have made the right decision to allow him to return to the parents when our own social services get it wrong on so many occasions.

The whole case is odd but I know nothing about Japanese society so can't judge how odd

I was thinking when posting on the gorilla thread that I was surprised there wasn't any equally long thread about this boy, I'm amazed people hadn't heard about it.

tupperwareAARGGH · 03/06/2016 10:23

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_boy_hoax

tupperwareAARGGH · 03/06/2016 10:20

This kind of reminds me of that story where that bloke said his kids had been swept away in that air balloon/inflatable thingy. It just doesn't sound quite right, like it has been set up.

exLtEveDallas · 03/06/2016 10:18

The public shaming will be seen as a huge punishment in Japan. I hope it actually leads to some help for both the child and his parents. The boys behaviour seems extreme, as does the parents punishment/reaction to it. The whole family could do with some help.

MorrisZapp · 03/06/2016 10:14

They made a terrible error of judgement. A week without their child has no doubt given them a million times more pain than a prison sentence could.

Or perhaps there's more to it and this is part of a pattern of poor or neglectful parenting in which case the world has been alerted and checks will presumably be made.

angelos02 · 03/06/2016 10:10

Pretty sure the boys interests aren't best served right now by losing both his parents to a prison sentence

OK. Just let them off then. Perfectly acceptable behaviour of them.

MorrisZapp · 03/06/2016 10:06

Pretty sure the boys interests aren't best served right now by losing both his parents to a prison sentence.

RufusTheReindeer · 03/06/2016 10:06

Oh thank goodness for that

And i dont believe that exlteves comment was victim blaming either

exLtEveDallas · 03/06/2016 10:05

We only know what is reported. And news coming out of Japan is unlikely to contain the full details. If the authorities are happy for the son to go back, maybe they have been able to investigate more fully than posters on MN?

angelos02 · 03/06/2016 10:03

I would assume the parents won't see their son for quite some time as they will be in prison. Surely?

HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 03/06/2016 09:59

And the father's "apology" contained not one word of apology to his son for abandoning him.

Onlyicanclean10 · 03/06/2016 09:51

Poor love. He was probably hiding S he was scared of them. What sort of parent throws a child out of s car and drives off as a punishment?

Ffs I hope they are prosecuted or better still starved for a week themselves.

As for posters blaming the boy. The gods!

awaynboilyurheid · 03/06/2016 09:47

Very pleased he has been found but really , just returned to parents with no follow up surely not? I would like to leave them in a forest alone for 7 days .

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