2 Religious Group Members Arrested For Murder After Failing To Seek Medical Care For Son (The Mainichi Daily News; Jan 14)

FUKUOKA, Japan: Two members of a religious organization, who allowed their baby son to die after refusing to seek medical treatment for him, have been arrested for murder.

Hideo Takatsuki, 32, and his wife Kuniko, 30, were arrested on Wednesday over the death of their 7-month-old son Yoshihiko, who died from blood poisoning caused by atopic dermatitis, a chronic skin condition.

The couple are members of a religious sect that believes in faith healing, and failed to get medical help until he lost consciousness on Oct. 9 last year. They said they regretted their actions and basically have admitted to the charges.

At the time of his death, Yoshihiko was just half the weight of a normal infant his age, at just 4.3 kilograms. Hospital staff called the case one of “medical neglect” and reported it to police.

Religious Group Raided Over Death Of Baby Boy (The Japan Times; Jan 15)

FUKUOKA, Japan: Police raided the Fukuoka headquarters of a religious group Thursday over the death of a baby whose parents allegedly caused him to die by withholding medical treatment.

The parents, Hideo and Kuniko Takatsuki, both of whom are followers and employees of the group Shinkenko Kyokai, were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder. Their 7-month-old son, Yoshihiko, underweight and suffering from eczema, died in October.

The parents allegedly only tried to help their son through religious acts of holding their hands over the baby’s body in what the sect calls a “jorei” service to cleanse the soul.

They told investigators they were confident the religious acts would clear up their son’s disease, police sources said.

Hideo Takatsuki, 32, became a follower in elementary school, while Kuniko Takatsuki, 30, joined when she was in junior high school.

Several other followers of Shinkenko Kyokai conducted similar rituals with the baby.

The group, headquartered in Higashi Ward, Fukuoka, has some 10,000 followers across Japan, according to the group’s Web site and investigative sources.