Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tokyo cops: 2 sisters allowed elderly mom to starve to death

Two sisters neglected their sick elderly mother and allowed her to die from starvation (TV Asahi)
Two sisters living in Hamura City neglected their elderly mother, who was was suffering from a disease, and allowed her to die from starvation (TV Asahi)

TOKYO (TR) – Two sisters neglected their sick elderly mother and allowed her to die from starvation at their residence in Hamura City, police said on Sunday.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested Yoko Sakurai, 35, and her sister Tomoko, 32, for allegedly causing their mother Sayoko, who lives with them, to die in 2014 by abandoning her, TV Asahi reports (Feb. 19).

On July 6, 2014, emergency personnel responding to an emergency call found Sayoko, who was suffering from osteoporosis, a disease that greatly weakens the body’s bones, collapsed and on the verge of death from starvation. She was later confirmed dead at a hospital, according to the Sankei Shimbun (Feb. 18).

Yoko has largely admitted to the charges, telling police she was “unable to properly look after her meals for her.”

Police have not disclosed whether Tomoko has admitted to the charges, and are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the case.