Man arrested after son dies inside washing machine

Police in Japan have arrested a 31-year-old man after his son died inside a washing machine.

Yuki Yamaguchi from Ibaraki prefecture was arrested for “abandoning his responsibility for protection” after his two-year-old child fell head first into a washing machine last April, police said.

The toddler died due to suffocation after falling into the machine in Mr Yamaguchi’s apartment, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

Mr Yamaguchi, a temporary worker in Tsuchiura, located north of Tokyo, told police that he “left him there without helping him”, referring to his son.

He was arrested on 14 January.

Police said that they believed Mr Yamaguchi left his son inside the washing machine for nearly 20 minutes, between 10am and 10.20am on 27 April, before making a call to the emergency services at around 10.29am, saying his son was not breathing.

The toddler’s mother was out at work at the time.

The washing machine was kept in the child’s room and was not operating at the time of the incident, police said.

Japanese media reported that police suspected the toddler climbed atop the machine, which was about 90cm high, with the help of footholds around it. He subsequently fell inside and was unable to get out.

In 2018, a five-year-old boy died after being found unconscious inside a washer-dryer at his home in Osaka. The boy's father reportedly called emergency services at around 3pm on 27 January, saying that his child had climbed into a washing machine and was unconscious.

The child was taken to hospital in cardio-respiratory arrest and was later pronounced dead.