SDF Officer and Wife Arrested for Abandoning Child in Sapporo

In Sapporo, a Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) officer and his wife, a part-time worker, were taken into custody on August 7th. The arrest stemmed from an incident in June where they allegedly left their preschool-age daughter unattended.

The Hokkaido Prefectural Police's Sapporo Higashi Police Station reported that 24-year-old Rion Hirae, an SDF officer, and his 25-year-old wife, Kanon, both residing in the city's Higashi Ward, are suspected of neglecting their parental responsibilities. They are accused of leaving their daughter alone at home around 2 p.m. on June 25th. The couple reportedly admitted to the accusations, acknowledging they had gone out to shop and run errands.

A passerby found the young girl wandering alone on a nearby street around 3:30 p.m. and contacted the emergency police number. The passerby reported finding a young girl, wearing only a diaper.

Upon arrival, police were able to determine the girl's name, which led them to contact her parents. The parents were summoned from their outing. Initially, the couple claimed they had gone to work, but further investigation revealed this was not accurate.

Despite the high temperature in Sapporo on the day of the incident, which reached 33.1 degrees Celsius, the girl was unharmed and showed no signs of distress.