Former kindergarten director and employee found guilty of death of girl in van

The former director of a kindergarten in central Japan and a staff member were found guilty of professional negligence on Thursday over the death of a three-year-old girl from heat stroke after she was left on a school bus for hours in 2022.

The Shizuoka District Court sentenced Tatsuyoshi Masuda, a 74-year-old former head of the facility in Makinohara, Shizuoka Prefecture, to 16 months in prison and Ako Nishihara, 48, who was in charge of the girls’ class, to one year in prison, suspended, for the death of China (pronounced “chi-na”) Kawamoto.

“Failure to perform basic due diligence duties, such as determining the number of children who disembarked, was a serious negligence,” Chief Judge Koshi Kunii said of Masuda, adding that the president had also failed to prepare a safety manual.

The photo shows a courtroom at the Shizuoka District Court on July 4, 2024. (Pool photo) (Kyodo)

“Her future was stolen at just 3 years and 11 months old. Her suffering is unimaginable,” Kunii added.

The court stated that it was Masuda’s responsibility as head of the facility to set safety standards.

According to the ruling, Masuda, who had been driving the van that day, closed and locked the vehicle’s doors on September 5, 2022, without taking into account all the children who got out, while Nishihara failed to confirm China’s whereabouts, such as by calling her family.

China was in the van until about 2:05 p.m. She was found unconscious, with her shirt off and an empty water bottle.

The prosecution had demanded a prison sentence of two years and six months for Masuda and one year for Nishihara.

The tragic death in China, as well as other similar cases of confinement, have prompted the government to order security measures for vehicles belonging to kindergartens and other institutions.

Related coverage:

Kindergarten director referred to public prosecutor over heat death of three-year-old