| Osaka child abandonment case | |
| Location: | Nishi, Osaka Prefecture, Japan |
| Date: | to |
| Type: | Child abandonment, Murder, Starvation |
| Fatalities: | 2 |
| Perp: | Sanae Shimomura |
| Victim: | Sakurako Hagi, 3, Kaede Hagi, 1 |
| Motive: | To stop taking care of the children |
The Osaka child abandonment case was a case of child abandonment involving two abandoned children in Osaka, Japan. It occurred on June 9, 2010 when Sanae Shimomura, a 23-year-old Japanese single mother in Osaka, sealed the door of her apartment shut, abandoning 3-year-old daughter Sakurako Hagi and 1-year-old son Kaede Hagi inside. Neighbors heard the children crying over many weeks until it suddenly subsided, but did not think anything more of this than simply children in a bad childhood phase. Since Shimomura did not come to work for several days, a colleague went to her place and noticed a strange smell beyond the door. When the police entered the apartment, they found the two children dead.[1] Social workers had attempted to stop by the apartment several times over the course of the children's confinement, but never found anyone home. The apartment was in a lively, populated area, but nobody knew that the children were confined.
Shimomura was arrested on 30 July 2010.[1] She was reported to have wanted free time for herself and was quoted as saying that she had grown "tired of feeding and bathing" her two children.[1] She was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murders. As of 2024, Shimamura remains imprisoned.