The Yomiuri Shimbun
Sixteen hospitals rejected requests to admit a pregnant woman in her 30s from Chiba who was in immediate danger of having a miscarriage, it has been learned.
The diagnosis of the woman's condition was made at Chiba University Hospital in the city's Chuo Ward, the hospital she was finally admitted to about one hour after the first emergency call was made.
The Chiba Fire Department launched an investigation into the city's emergency care of pregnant women after it was revealed that a 38-year-old pregnant woman from Nara Prefecture suffered a miscarriage after being refused admission by one hospital after another.
The fire department said it did not know whether the woman eventually suffered a miscarriage after admission to the hospital and that it had no record of any reasons given by hospitals for their decisions to refuse admission.
(Sep. 8, 2007)
Friday, September 28, 2007
191 multiple refusals of pregnant women found
Kyodo News
There were at least 191 cases where a pregnant woman being transported by ambulance was turned away by five or more hospitals between 2004 and 2006, a survey showed Thursday, underscoring the growing hardships of ambulance crews forced to scramble by the dearth of obstetricians in the country.
The number of cases in which one or more hospitals refused to admit pregnant women, including the 191, was 2,780 in the three-year period.
In the survey, carried out by Kyodo News, the 47 prefectural governments were asked about the current situation for emergency care services for pregnant women, and 27 had responded as of Thursday.
Those figures are expected to swell in a government survey to be released shortly.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency, an organization under the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, is currently conducting its own nationwide survey through the prefectural governments after a pregnant woman in Nara Prefecture suffered a miscarriage in late August after nine hospitals refused to admit her, a case that drew nationwide attention.
In the first survey, most of the hospitals cited an inability to offer adequate care and a lack of specialized staff for refusing pregnant women for emergency treatment.
Of the 191 cases where five or more hospitals rejected pregnant women, Osaka Prefecture accounted for the largest number, at 58, followed by Chiba and Nara prefectures at 29 each and Ibaraki Prefecture at 27.
The 58 cases in Osaka Prefecture include six cases in which 10 or more hospitals refused to admit a pregnant woman, and one in which more than 20 hospitals refused to do so.
Eight out of Chiba Prefecture's 28 cases involved refusal by more than 10 hospitals.
Ibaraki, Saitama and Nara prefectures also reported cases involving 10 or more refusals.
Explaining their decisions, hospitals in 628 of the 2,780 cases cited difficulties providing adequate care.
The survey also showed that 552 cases involved hospitals with no obstetricians on night shifts and 381 cases involving those whose staff were performing operations or were otherwise preoccupied. There were also 383 cases where obstetricians were not in, and 214 where there were no vacant beds.
There were two cases in Osaka and Nara prefectures where an ambulance took more than two hours to transport a pregnant woman to a hospital because of difficulties finding one that would accept her. One similar case was reported in Fukushima Prefecture.
Meanwhile, in Gunma Prefecture in 2004, an ambulance transported a woman who complained of abdominal pain. After being refused by four hospitals, she was taken to a fifth and was confirmed to be pregnant there.
Nearly two hours passed before she was sent to another hospital outside Gunma Prefecture because no obstetrician was available at the fifth hospital.
In Gifu Prefecture, an ambulance took about one hour to transport a woman late at night after being refused by five hospitals.
September 28, 2007
There were at least 191 cases where a pregnant woman being transported by ambulance was turned away by five or more hospitals between 2004 and 2006, a survey showed Thursday, underscoring the growing hardships of ambulance crews forced to scramble by the dearth of obstetricians in the country.
The number of cases in which one or more hospitals refused to admit pregnant women, including the 191, was 2,780 in the three-year period.
In the survey, carried out by Kyodo News, the 47 prefectural governments were asked about the current situation for emergency care services for pregnant women, and 27 had responded as of Thursday.
Those figures are expected to swell in a government survey to be released shortly.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency, an organization under the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, is currently conducting its own nationwide survey through the prefectural governments after a pregnant woman in Nara Prefecture suffered a miscarriage in late August after nine hospitals refused to admit her, a case that drew nationwide attention.
In the first survey, most of the hospitals cited an inability to offer adequate care and a lack of specialized staff for refusing pregnant women for emergency treatment.
Of the 191 cases where five or more hospitals rejected pregnant women, Osaka Prefecture accounted for the largest number, at 58, followed by Chiba and Nara prefectures at 29 each and Ibaraki Prefecture at 27.
The 58 cases in Osaka Prefecture include six cases in which 10 or more hospitals refused to admit a pregnant woman, and one in which more than 20 hospitals refused to do so.
Eight out of Chiba Prefecture's 28 cases involved refusal by more than 10 hospitals.
Ibaraki, Saitama and Nara prefectures also reported cases involving 10 or more refusals.
Explaining their decisions, hospitals in 628 of the 2,780 cases cited difficulties providing adequate care.
The survey also showed that 552 cases involved hospitals with no obstetricians on night shifts and 381 cases involving those whose staff were performing operations or were otherwise preoccupied. There were also 383 cases where obstetricians were not in, and 214 where there were no vacant beds.
There were two cases in Osaka and Nara prefectures where an ambulance took more than two hours to transport a pregnant woman to a hospital because of difficulties finding one that would accept her. One similar case was reported in Fukushima Prefecture.
Meanwhile, in Gunma Prefecture in 2004, an ambulance transported a woman who complained of abdominal pain. After being refused by four hospitals, she was taken to a fifth and was confirmed to be pregnant there.
Nearly two hours passed before she was sent to another hospital outside Gunma Prefecture because no obstetrician was available at the fifth hospital.
In Gifu Prefecture, an ambulance took about one hour to transport a woman late at night after being refused by five hospitals.
September 28, 2007
Video shows Japanese journalist 'being shot deliberately'
Footage capturing the last, terrible seconds of Kenji Nagai’s life has been aired on Japanese television – horrifying a nation and raising official suspicion that the 50-year old photo-journalist was murdered by Burmese troops (writes Leo Lewis in Tokyo).
The shaky, indistinct moments of footage appear to show Nagai, who was on the edge of a crowd of panic-stricken demonstrators, shoved violently to the ground by a soldier and shot dead at point-blank range.
The crowd flees, leaving behind a visibly agonised figure believed to be Nagai – dressed casually in shorts and flip-flops – on his back in the street. In his right hand is a video camera, held above the ground to protect it from the fall.
A loud crack is audible as a soldier points his rifle at the prone figure before launching himself at the dispersing crowd of protesters.
A doctor at the Japanese embassy in Burma confirmed a bullet entered Nagai’s body from the lower right side of his chest, pierced his heart and exited from his back.
The footage, say Japanese experts, squarely contradicts the official Burmese explanation of Nagai’s death – that he was killed by a “stray bullet”.
In the few seconds before he was killed, Nagai appeared to being filming the Burmese military as it faced down the crowd. One of the soldiers seems to spot him doing so, and launches his deadly response.
Masahiko Komura, Japan’s Foreign Minister, said that the footage appeared to show that Nagai was slain deliberately by Burmese troops as they charged on a crowd of civilians. The government has dispatched the deputy foreign minister to Burma to establish the truth behind Nagai’s death.
Japanese media are hailing Nagai as a heroic crusader for the truth. His elderly mother, who made a brief, tearful statement this afternoon, said that she begged her son not to go to Burma, but Nagai had simply told her that it was his job to go to places nobody else wanted to. “I wept through the night as I thought about my son,” she said, “his job always made me prepared for the worst, but every time he went away my heart would beat fast.”
Nagai’s father said that if his son had indeed been shot dead at point blank range, it was the cruelest way to die.
Japanese television stations today showed a montage of Nagai’s work – mostly video taken during conflicts in the Middle East. His photo-journalism focused heavily on the victims of any conflict he covered.
The largest foreign donor of overseas development aid to Burma, Japan has officially said it will not cut off aid to the military-run nation. But foreign ministry sources today told The Times that its multi-million dollar donations to the country were now under review.
Times Online
September 28, 2007
The shaky, indistinct moments of footage appear to show Nagai, who was on the edge of a crowd of panic-stricken demonstrators, shoved violently to the ground by a soldier and shot dead at point-blank range.
The crowd flees, leaving behind a visibly agonised figure believed to be Nagai – dressed casually in shorts and flip-flops – on his back in the street. In his right hand is a video camera, held above the ground to protect it from the fall.
A loud crack is audible as a soldier points his rifle at the prone figure before launching himself at the dispersing crowd of protesters.
A doctor at the Japanese embassy in Burma confirmed a bullet entered Nagai’s body from the lower right side of his chest, pierced his heart and exited from his back.
The footage, say Japanese experts, squarely contradicts the official Burmese explanation of Nagai’s death – that he was killed by a “stray bullet”.
In the few seconds before he was killed, Nagai appeared to being filming the Burmese military as it faced down the crowd. One of the soldiers seems to spot him doing so, and launches his deadly response.
Masahiko Komura, Japan’s Foreign Minister, said that the footage appeared to show that Nagai was slain deliberately by Burmese troops as they charged on a crowd of civilians. The government has dispatched the deputy foreign minister to Burma to establish the truth behind Nagai’s death.
Japanese media are hailing Nagai as a heroic crusader for the truth. His elderly mother, who made a brief, tearful statement this afternoon, said that she begged her son not to go to Burma, but Nagai had simply told her that it was his job to go to places nobody else wanted to. “I wept through the night as I thought about my son,” she said, “his job always made me prepared for the worst, but every time he went away my heart would beat fast.”
Nagai’s father said that if his son had indeed been shot dead at point blank range, it was the cruelest way to die.
Japanese television stations today showed a montage of Nagai’s work – mostly video taken during conflicts in the Middle East. His photo-journalism focused heavily on the victims of any conflict he covered.
The largest foreign donor of overseas development aid to Burma, Japan has officially said it will not cut off aid to the military-run nation. But foreign ministry sources today told The Times that its multi-million dollar donations to the country were now under review.
Times Online
September 28, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Parents of slain English teacher frustrated as manhunt grows cold
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007
British family demands more information on search for Ichihashi
CHIBA (Kyodo) The parents of slain Briton Lindsay Ann Hawker expressed frustration Wednesday, six months to the day since her body was found, that police have not apprehended the lone suspect.
"This man must be caught. We are very frightened that he will offend again," her father, William Hawker, said by telephone from England. He was referring to suspect Tatsuya Ichihashi, 28.
"I am sure that the Japanese police are doing their best," Hawker, 54, said, while urging them to provide the family with more information on the progress of the investigation.
"Initially, we had information coming from the police and we felt that we were more involved with the case," he said. "Now, we only receive a weekly report on what the police have done and where they have searched."
The victim's body was found in a sand-filled bathtub on the balcony of Ichihashi's apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, on March 26. Ichihashi fled from officers who went there after language school Nova Corp., her employer, reported it was unable to contact her.
Apparently frustrated by the lack of police information, the family set up a Web site and has obtained several reports of Ichihashi sightings from Canada, Thailand and other places.
A senior police investigator denied the possibility that he has fled Japan, saying he was put on the wanted list immediately after the murder.
Police have received more than 2,000 reports on him from 45 of the 47 prefectures and sent officers to roughly 20 prefectures so far. But they have developed few concrete clues on his whereabouts.
"It is difficult for us to carry on living a normal life," Hawker's father said. Still, "we don't blame Tokyo. We don't blame Japanese people. She just met an evil person."
Julia Hawker, the victim's 50-year-old mother, said that if Ichihashi is arrested, "it would enable us to remember her with more joy."
Japan Times
British family demands more information on search for Ichihashi
CHIBA (Kyodo) The parents of slain Briton Lindsay Ann Hawker expressed frustration Wednesday, six months to the day since her body was found, that police have not apprehended the lone suspect.
"This man must be caught. We are very frightened that he will offend again," her father, William Hawker, said by telephone from England. He was referring to suspect Tatsuya Ichihashi, 28.
"I am sure that the Japanese police are doing their best," Hawker, 54, said, while urging them to provide the family with more information on the progress of the investigation.
"Initially, we had information coming from the police and we felt that we were more involved with the case," he said. "Now, we only receive a weekly report on what the police have done and where they have searched."
The victim's body was found in a sand-filled bathtub on the balcony of Ichihashi's apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, on March 26. Ichihashi fled from officers who went there after language school Nova Corp., her employer, reported it was unable to contact her.
Apparently frustrated by the lack of police information, the family set up a Web site and has obtained several reports of Ichihashi sightings from Canada, Thailand and other places.
A senior police investigator denied the possibility that he has fled Japan, saying he was put on the wanted list immediately after the murder.
Police have received more than 2,000 reports on him from 45 of the 47 prefectures and sent officers to roughly 20 prefectures so far. But they have developed few concrete clues on his whereabouts.
"It is difficult for us to carry on living a normal life," Hawker's father said. Still, "we don't blame Tokyo. We don't blame Japanese people. She just met an evil person."
Julia Hawker, the victim's 50-year-old mother, said that if Ichihashi is arrested, "it would enable us to remember her with more joy."
Japan Times
Monday, September 24, 2007
Father of dead British woman makes tearful plea
Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:22pm BST
TOKYO (Reuters) - The father of a young British woman whose body was found naked in a bathtub full of sand near Tokyo made a tearful plea on Wednesday for information on a man police are hunting.
English teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, 22, from Brandon, near Coventry, was found dead on Monday in the city of Ichikawa, east of Tokyo.
Police have issued an arrest warrant and launched a nationwide hunt for the Japanese man who lived alone in the apartment where her body was found on the balcony.
William Hawker broke down in tears as he demanded the suspect's capture.
"My daughter was a lovely girl, she would've helped anybody, and it is because she would help anybody she is where she is now," he told a news conference.
Tatsuya Ichihashi, 28, fled when police arrived to question him, losing his shoes and a rucksack he was carrying in a chase, a police spokesman said.
Ichihashi's neighbours told Japanese television they had heard banging noises coming from his apartment at night.
"We are investigating the cause of her death," the spokesman said. "It is unclear at the moment."
The case comes less than a month before a verdict is due in the trial of a wealthy Japanese businessman accused of killing British woman Lucie Blackman, 21, in 2000.
The father of Lucie Blackman, Tim Blackman, told Japanese television: "It's very tragic news.
"Of course we are thinking very much about Tokyo and Lucie's case at the moment."
Police found Blackman's mutilated body buried in a seaside cave near an apartment belonging to the businessman, who has denied the charges against him.
TOKYO (Reuters) - The father of a young British woman whose body was found naked in a bathtub full of sand near Tokyo made a tearful plea on Wednesday for information on a man police are hunting.
English teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, 22, from Brandon, near Coventry, was found dead on Monday in the city of Ichikawa, east of Tokyo.
Police have issued an arrest warrant and launched a nationwide hunt for the Japanese man who lived alone in the apartment where her body was found on the balcony.
William Hawker broke down in tears as he demanded the suspect's capture.
"My daughter was a lovely girl, she would've helped anybody, and it is because she would help anybody she is where she is now," he told a news conference.
Tatsuya Ichihashi, 28, fled when police arrived to question him, losing his shoes and a rucksack he was carrying in a chase, a police spokesman said.
Ichihashi's neighbours told Japanese television they had heard banging noises coming from his apartment at night.
"We are investigating the cause of her death," the spokesman said. "It is unclear at the moment."
The case comes less than a month before a verdict is due in the trial of a wealthy Japanese businessman accused of killing British woman Lucie Blackman, 21, in 2000.
The father of Lucie Blackman, Tim Blackman, told Japanese television: "It's very tragic news.
"Of course we are thinking very much about Tokyo and Lucie's case at the moment."
Police found Blackman's mutilated body buried in a seaside cave near an apartment belonging to the businessman, who has denied the charges against him.
Briton's body found in Japan bath
A woman found buried in sand in a bathtub in Japan has been named by police as 22-year-old missing Briton Lindsay Ann Hawker.
Colleagues identified the body of the English teacher, from Brandon near Coventry, found on a fourth-floor flat balcony in Ichikawa, east of Tokyo.
The cause of death is not yet known but there were bruises on the victim's face, the BBC's Chris Hogg said.
Police are hunting a man who fled the apartment in Chiba prefecture.
Disappearance
The BBC's correspondent said the teacher was reported missing by her flatmates on Monday afternoon after she disappeared from her home on Sunday.
Local media reported that Miss Hawker, who worked at the Koiwa school in Tokyo, had been in Japan for only a few months and was a popular teacher, he added.
They said she had gone to the apartment for the first time on Saturday to give English lessons to 28-year-old Tatsuya Ichihashi.
She had left details of the address at home before she disappeared and police are now trying to locate Mr Ichihashi.
A handbag and a passport thought to belong to the victim were found near the apartment.
The Nova language school in London, which employed Miss Hawker, said in a statement that she had graduated from university last year and had joined its teaching team on 25 October.
"She took her job seriously and put every effort into it. She was trying to get used to Japan. We are very sorry that this has happened," it said.
The school was co-operating fully with the investigation, it added.
George Fisher, the headmaster of King Henry VIII School in Coventry where Miss Hawker was a pupil until 2003, said the staff were very upset by her death.
"I knew Lindsay well, she was a very popular student, and the school and staff are devastated," he said.
BBC News
Tuesday 27, March 2007
Colleagues identified the body of the English teacher, from Brandon near Coventry, found on a fourth-floor flat balcony in Ichikawa, east of Tokyo.
The cause of death is not yet known but there were bruises on the victim's face, the BBC's Chris Hogg said.
Police are hunting a man who fled the apartment in Chiba prefecture.
Disappearance
The BBC's correspondent said the teacher was reported missing by her flatmates on Monday afternoon after she disappeared from her home on Sunday.
Local media reported that Miss Hawker, who worked at the Koiwa school in Tokyo, had been in Japan for only a few months and was a popular teacher, he added.
They said she had gone to the apartment for the first time on Saturday to give English lessons to 28-year-old Tatsuya Ichihashi.
She had left details of the address at home before she disappeared and police are now trying to locate Mr Ichihashi.
A handbag and a passport thought to belong to the victim were found near the apartment.
The Nova language school in London, which employed Miss Hawker, said in a statement that she had graduated from university last year and had joined its teaching team on 25 October.
"She took her job seriously and put every effort into it. She was trying to get used to Japan. We are very sorry that this has happened," it said.
The school was co-operating fully with the investigation, it added.
George Fisher, the headmaster of King Henry VIII School in Coventry where Miss Hawker was a pupil until 2003, said the staff were very upset by her death.
"I knew Lindsay well, she was a very popular student, and the school and staff are devastated," he said.
BBC News
Tuesday 27, March 2007
Body of British teacher found; man flees scene
03/28/2007
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
ICHIKAWA, Chiba Prefecture--Police are searching for a man who fled while they were searching his apartment here after discovering the body of a missing British woman in a bathtub on the balcony.
Police said Tatsuya Ichihashi, 28, was wanted in connection with the abandonment of the woman's body. While police have yet to confirm the cause of death, they were treating the case as a possible murder Tuesday night.
Lindsay Ann Hawker, 22, who lived in Funabashi and worked as an instructor at an English conversation school in Tokyo, had been missing for two days when her body was found Monday night.
Police were informed around 3:30 p.m. Monday by a staff member at Hawker's school in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward that she was missing.
Around 10 p.m. police searched Ichihashi's fourth-floor apartment here and discovered the body buried in sand in a bathtub on the balcony.
The police also found a bag and a card with Hawker's name on it in the apartment.
Ichihashi used to be a student at the school where Hawker taught and was acquainted with her.
He was in the apartment while police conducted their search but still he managed to escape even though officers tried to grab hold of him.
(IHT/Asahi: March 28,2007)
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
ICHIKAWA, Chiba Prefecture--Police are searching for a man who fled while they were searching his apartment here after discovering the body of a missing British woman in a bathtub on the balcony.
Police said Tatsuya Ichihashi, 28, was wanted in connection with the abandonment of the woman's body. While police have yet to confirm the cause of death, they were treating the case as a possible murder Tuesday night.
Lindsay Ann Hawker, 22, who lived in Funabashi and worked as an instructor at an English conversation school in Tokyo, had been missing for two days when her body was found Monday night.
Police were informed around 3:30 p.m. Monday by a staff member at Hawker's school in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward that she was missing.
Around 10 p.m. police searched Ichihashi's fourth-floor apartment here and discovered the body buried in sand in a bathtub on the balcony.
The police also found a bag and a card with Hawker's name on it in the apartment.
Ichihashi used to be a student at the school where Hawker taught and was acquainted with her.
He was in the apartment while police conducted their search but still he managed to escape even though officers tried to grab hold of him.
(IHT/Asahi: March 28,2007)
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