A bruise on the face of a 3-year-old girl in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, was seen in March, months before she died in August and her parents were arrested, the Sankei Shimbun reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Erena Kanao's body had dozens of bruises, both old and new, a judicial autopsy found. Osaka prefectural police suspect she was abused routinely and are investigating.
A woman in her 30s who knew the family said she met Erena around late March. The girl had bruises on her right cheek and forehead.
Erena struck the woman as small and slight for her age, but waved back when greeted. "At the time I thought maybe she was sick," the woman said. "If she was being abused, I have no words."
Five reports to the city
Hirakata city hall received five reports of suspected abuse between July 18 last year and July 21 this year, according to the city. One of them, in March, came in around the time the woman saw the bruises.
The city consulted a child guidance center — the prefectural body that handles child welfare cases — only after the fifth report, on July 21. The girl died before the center placed her in temporary protective custody or shared information with prefectural police.
Prefectural police arrested the father, Kentaro Kanao, 33, a company employee, on suspicion of murder on the 13th of this month. They arrested the mother, Riyo Kanao, 33, unemployed, on suspicion of abandonment of a person responsible for care resulting in death.
Investigators allege Kentaro beat Erena repeatedly about the head and abdomen with intent to kill, in a room of the apartment where the family then lived, between 6 and 7 p.m. on August 2. They say she died around 2 a.m. the following day.
According to prefectural police, the autopsy found that strong pressure on her abdomen had ruptured her esophagus. Her lungs were punctured and she is believed to have been unable to breathe. She also suffered an acute subdural hematoma from a blow to the head.