Japanese Man Shoves Disabled Wife Into Sea Because He Grew Tired Of Taking Care Of Her

Police in Oiso, Kanagawa have arrested an 81-year-old man on charges of pushing his wife into the sea because he was tired of 'taking care of her.'

Police officials were made aware of this incident on Friday, November 4, when the son of 81-year-old Hiroshi Fujiwara told authorities 'my dad says he pushed mum into the sea'.

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Fujiwara told officials that the incident happened a day ago when he drove his 79-year-old, wheelchair-bound wife Teruko to a pier in Oiso.

The couple lived alone and Fujiwara also told police that he was taking care of his disabled wife for more than 40 years when he drove her to the sea at around 5.30 pm local time on Thursday.

Once there, he claimed, he pushed her in her wheelchair from the pier and into the water, before later going to admit to his son what he had done.

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Kanagawa Prefecture Police’s Oiso police station said in a statement on Friday (4 November) that Fujiwara was arrested and taken into police custody on suspicion of murder.

Fujiwara has pled guilty to the charges and has also admitted to them.

He was arrested after officials discovered a body floating in the water by someone in the area who then called the police at around 7 pm to report it. 

First responders were able to get the 79-year-old woman's body out of the sea and she was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Social media is upset with the Japanese government after the news of the elderly woman made it to the internet. People are lashing out at the government for ignoring the issue of elder abuse in a population that is aging rapidly.

Japan reported a population of 125.7 million last year, according to the World Bank, and more than one-quarter of people living in the country are aged 65 and above.

As reported by the South China Morning Post, the proportion of residents over the age of 65 is projected to reach one-third of the population by 2050.

The elderly woman's death comes after a survey by Japan's health and welfare ministry last year reported 17,281 incidents of elderly people being physically assaulted by family members in 2020.

As many as 25 elderly people lost their lives as a result of the abuse.

Additional data also revealed by the Japanese welfare ministry shows that almost 70 percent of elder abuse victims suffered physical abuse during their ordeals.