Family Arrested for Tying Up Mentally Ill Son, Who Died After Fall From Window

Japanese police have arrested a family of three for tying up their mentally ill son, who died after falling out of their home’s second-floor window.  

In May last year, 37-year-old Yuichiro Yokoyama, who had a history of mental illness, left his house in Kawasaki City without wearing any clothes, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported. Police took him into custody and he was referred to a medical institution. 

After this incident, his family began confining the 37-year-old in their home, tying his hands and feet with rope and handcuffs. According to the broadcaster, Yokoyama’s 70-year-old father told police, “I thought if I let my son outside, he’d cause trouble.”

Following four months of this treatment, Yokoyama fell out of a window in September last year, hitting his head and sustaining heavy injuries. Though he survived the fall, Yokoyama became bedridden and subsequently died from infected bedsores. He weighed only 50 kilograms when he died. 

It’s not clear why the family are only now facing charges, which were made public on Monday. If found guilty of unlawful confinement, Yokoyama’s family members could face a prison sentence of up to seven years. Yokoyama’s 60-year-old mother and 36-year-old younger sister have denied the allegations. 

Mental health has long been considered a taboo subject in Japan. Patients can suffer from stigma and shame in seeking aid, and at times physical violence. 

Under Japan's Act on Mental Health and Welfare for the Mentally Disabled, psychiatric facilities can detain or isolate patients if they fear one may inflict self-harm or commit suicide. Though this practice has been criticized by mental health advocates, a 2020 study showed that Japanese psychiatric patients were nearly 270 times as likely to be physically restrained in hospitals as American patients. Japanese patients were also 600 times more likely to be restrained than Australians, and 3,200 times as likely as New Zealanders.

Japanese people with disabilities have also been the subject of violent crime. Notably in 2016, a Japanese man stabbed and killed 19 patients at a care home for those with mental and physical disabilities. 

After his arrest, the 30-year-old Satoshi Uematsu said society would be better off if people with disabilities “disappeared.” He’s since been sentenced to death for his crimes. 

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