Hirakata city in Osaka Prefecture designated a 3-year-old girl later found slain as a child needing protection, after five abuse reports from her schools, but never took her into temporary custody, the city said.
The city explained its handling of the reports about Erena Kanao on the night of November 13, the Mainichi Shimbun reported. Police are treating her father as a suspect in her killing.
According to the city and the Osaka prefectural police, the city's child and family center received five reports suggesting abuse from the nursery and kindergarten Erena attended from July 2025. Staff raised concerns such as bruises on her body.
When city officials went to check, they confirmed bruises on her body. They did not consider the injuries serious and could not conclude they came from violence, so they did not decide to take her into temporary custody.
The city interviewed her parents and continued to offer advice and guidance. In January it classified Erena as a child needing protection — a designation for children judged at risk of abuse. The label is a filing category that does not by itself remove a child from the home.
Fifth report brought a bruise on her face
A fifth report came on July 21 this year, and the city consulted the prefectural central child and family center, the child consultation center that holds the authority to take children into temporary custody.
When Erena's condition was checked on that occasion, she had a bruise on her face.