TTokyo

Son allegedly kills 100-year-old mother amid caregiver fatigue in Tokyo

  • November 26, 2025


I’m sure caregiver fatigue is a growing problem. It’s a sad, desperate situation.

by SkyInJapan

15 comments

  4. Honestly, I can understand their motives, but definitely doesn’t any of their actions by any means. Especially where there are services for this, it’s just terrible.

  9. While I’ll never condone murder, I will ~~condone~~ condemn the broken social structures that made this happen.

    Edit: Correction

  10. Tragic but it happens. It’s been awhile but I’ve heard other stories like this in Japan over the years. In the US, the presence of Elder Protective Services and the ability to anonymously report possible abuses sometimes help. According to statistics, elder abuse whether physical, financial, psychological, or by neglect is a felony in the US and the perpetrators are most often family members. I was a caregiver for my mother with Alzheimer’s dementia and in the end, it was for liability reasons I put her in a group home. I’ve known adult children with parents in Japan often leave the US to go back and care for them, and when they try to get help through the social service system, they are made to feel like they are not doing enough in their duty as children to care for their aging parents, so it’s no surprise adult children feel pressured and trapped. Maybe Japan needs mandated reporters (doctors, nurses, social workers) whose own careers are jeopardized if they do not report suspected abuses and neglect for further investigation.

  11. As a Filipino (the country’s national “export” are caregivers and nurses), this is kinda sad.

  12. That’s the situation. In Japanese we say 介護疲れ　and 老々介護. Pension homes have long waiting lists, shortage of caregivers is serious.
    Good job Aso and LDP goons restricting immigration .

  15. My family’s taking care of a relative with Alzheimer’s here in Japan and it’s rough to say the least, I honestly can’t blame the son.

    We were told that our relative wasn’t eligible for entirely government-funded care homes unless they went and broke a hip or became otherwise disabled or severely sick. There’s allowances for this and that, but it’s very limited. They can only go to daycare X times a week for Y hours. At-home nursing care is only available Z hours a month. Can’t even stick them into a hospital or daycare without their permission, even when they’re talking to the walls. They go off and get into a car accident, you’re forced to accept lower pay for that day because the police call your employer to get your ass to the scene because they somehow can’t even tow the car without a family member there. You beg to the social worker to help send them to a nursing home because the family’s at their limit and the relative isn’t getting adequate care as a result, and they just say they can’t do anything and even sound tired of your shit.

    Not as simple as stuffing them in a care home unless you’re very proactive and have plenty of money.

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