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Father arrested for leaving 4-year-old daughter in car parking lot to discipline her

IBARAKI, Oct 26 (Japan Today) - Police in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, have arrested a 27-year-old man on suspicion of parental neglect after he left his four-year-old daughter unattended in a car parking lot at night.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 8 p.m. on Oct 11, Kyodo News reported. Police said Masayoshi Tateno, an employee of his father’s company in Kashima City, has admitted to the charge and quoted him as saying “My daughter wouldn’t listen to me, so I left her there to discipline her.”

Tateno lives with his wife and other family members. On the night of Oct 11, he drove to the parking lot, dropped off his daughter and left. A passerby noticed the girl walking along a street about two hours later, and notified the police. When officers arrived at the scene, the child told them she had been left behind at the parking facility. ...continue reading

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