TW - CA, child abandonment, infanticide, stillbirth, and other troubling topics. Viewer discretion is advised.
After reading Ryu Murakami’s novel Coin Locker Babies, we wanted to learn more about this phenomenon and speak about recent cases of children left in lockers, other well-known cases of child abandonment, and find out a bit more about what options people have, like foster care and adoption. Please be respectful in the comments.
Got questions or want to share your story? Send us an email at conbinicultpod@gmail.com
Frankie - @franklinthewoman
Cheyenne - @lostwithlow
Words mentioned/useful words
間引き mabiki - thinning out, pruning, also Edo period word for infanticide of second or third sons
遊郭 yuukaku - red light/entertainment district
References/sources:
Child abuse and neglect in Japan: Coin-operated-locker babies
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0145213494001087
Editorial: Japan needs legal protections, support for confidential births, baby hatches
Japan's only 'baby hatch' sees record high inquiries 'due to pandemic'
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20201128/p2a/00m/0na/005000c
Southwest Japan hospital shelters woman seeking to give birth without family knowledge
Mother arrested for leaving baby's body in locker - 26 September 2018
https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/7579
Baby’s body found in shopping center locker - June 6, 2021
Japan Children Support Association
https://npojcsa.com/en/index.html
Infanticide in Japan: Sign of the Times? - NYT 1973
33-year-old woman arrested in Osaka for abandoning newborn baby's body in coin locker
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASR3N3R59R3NPTIL004.html
Time stamps
00:00 TW - whole episode
00:43 life updates, books
6:32 coin locker babies
10:08 recent cases
17:32 similar cases through the ages
20:21 orphanages, foster care, adoption overview
23:55 does Japan have baby hatches?
29:27 movies based on abandonment cases
38:20 what options are there