A teenager starved to death months after being detained. Her mom’s taking police to court

In the 18 days Runa spent in a police cell in Japan, she wrote about how much she yearned to come home.

The teenager missed her mother’s cooking, her hugs, and their small, ordinary rituals of life together – reading, shopping, and singing.

“Please, I beg you. I want to see my mom,” she scribbled in a notepad given to her during her detention, seen by CNN.

Runa’s incarceration – and death months after her release – is now the subject of a lawsuit brought by her mother against Hyogo Prefectural Police alleging unlawful arrest and detention. Proceedings opened this week in a case that’s shone a spotlight on Japan’s treatment of juvenile suspects.

“I feel so sorry for Runa that I failed to protect her myself,” Runa’s mother Yoko told CNN through tears and staggered breaths, using an alias for privacy reasons. CNN has withheld Runa’s full name at her mother’s request, for the same reason.

Yoko said Japanese police held the 16-year-old for 18 days last year on suspicion of an assault at the care home she runs for people with special needs. Police declined to comment or share details of the complaint, and CNN has been unable to independently verify the allegations.

Yoko said her daughter simply tried to prevent an agitated resident from biting others by putting her hand around the person’s chin. Runa denied the allegation and was never charged.

During her incarceration, Runa stopped eating and after her release, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Her weight continued to drop, and she died five months later, weighing about 20 kilograms — the average weight of a 6-year-old girl.

Her single mother is seeking 109 million yen ($700,000) in damages, alleging unlawful arrest and detention, which she said led to Runa’s death .

“I want the police and prosecutors to reflect on their duty to care for people and protect citizens, and to tell the truth in court,” she said.

Japan has a reputation for “hostage justice,” a term referring to the detention of suspects without charge for far longer than the law in other countries would allow, often for days, if not weeks.

But the country also has strict rules governing how minors should be treated during a criminal investigation. Under Japan’s Juvenile Law, minors should only be incarcerated when it’s “unavoidable.”

However, defense attorney Megumi Wada said the meaning of “unavoidable” had never been clearly defined, and was open to interpretation by authorities.

More than 6,000 suspects under the age of 20 were detained in 2024 – and of those, 4,000 were held for more than 15 days, according to government statistics.

The decision to deny Runa access to her mother, and detain her for more than a fortnight, has baffled lawyers, raising questions about whether measures to protect minors in custody are working.

Mikio Uehara, a public prosecutor turned defense attorney, said Runa’s death was “extremely tragic.” “I have strong doubts as to whether detention was truly necessary,” he added.

When asked for the reasons behind Runa’s detention, the Hyogo Prefectural Police said it would not “comment on the details of individual cases.”

“This matter is currently the subject of a pending lawsuit for state compensation, and the prefecture’s position will be made clear in court,” a spokesperson said.

Japan’s Ministry of Justice has repeatedly rejected allegations of “hostage justice,” saying that it gives due consideration to the rights of people accused of wrongdoing.

The family runs a care home in Hyogo prefecture, located in the northwest of Osaka, Japan’s second-biggest city.

Growing up around people who needed extra care, Runa was a “cheerful girl” who aspired to take over the family care home one day, her mother said.

“Although her life was short, only 16 years, she lived every single day without ever forgetting compassion and care for others,” said Yoko.

But the arrest of Runa on June 17 last year – four months after the alleged assault – upended everything. Police detained Runa at the care home and took her away before her mother, who had rushed back to the facility upon hearing the news, had a chance to see her, Yoko recalled.

For the next 18 days, Yoko was barred from visiting Runa due to a ban sought by the prosecutors – and granted by a court – over concerns that she, as the owner of the facility, could tamper with the evidence.

Through Runa’s lawyer, she began to learn that her daughter wasn’t eating properly. But she was never informed of the full extent as authorities rejected her requests for Runa’s meal records, she said.

The night before her release, the teenager collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, she said.

The next morning, Yoko was shocked by what she saw.

“She had become skin and bones and came out screaming and crying,” Yoko recalled.

“Her stride was so feeble it took everything she had just to walk 10 meters, not even 5 meters,” she said, adding that they had to carry her to the car.

Apart from her scribbled notes, scant details are available about Runa’s experience in detention, according to her lawyer Yoshihiro Mukai.

“When we met her, she was overwhelmed with anxiety, repeatedly asking what would become of her,” Mukai told CNN, of their meetings during her detention.

Japan has facilities – known as Shonen Kanbetsu Sho – dedicated to temporarily housing juvenile suspects. But defense lawyer Wada said they were seldom used when the detention was shorter than two weeks, leaving minors to face similar conditions to their adult counterparts.

It’s not clear why Runa wasn’t moved to a juvenile facility after the first two weeks in custody.

Wada also raised another peculiarity in Runa’s case. “I have never seen cases where the parents couldn’t see the suspects,” she said.

A separate police guideline requires investigators to do their best to accommodate juvenile suspects’ requests for the company of an appropriate adult, such as a parent, even during interrogation. But the right is not absolute, said Tomonobu Ishida, a law professor at Meiji University in Tokyo.

“They are essentially internal rules or administrative guidelines for the police, and therefore do not have the legally binding force,” Ishida said.

“However, even assuming that there was a genuine risk of destruction of evidence, I personally have some difficulty seeing how such a relatively long period of detention could be considered proportionate, given the relatively minor nature of the alleged conduct and the fact that she was a juvenile,” Ishida said.

After Runa’s release early last July, she became suspicious of adults, including the doctors and nurses who came to treat her, Yoko said.

Yoko said they tried to feed her food that might revive her appetite – from ice cream to nuts – but “everything just passed right through her system.” Runa’s distrust in the system complicated rescue efforts as she refused to be taken to hospital.

Psychiatrist Mai Uchida said it’s crucial not to mistake teenagers for a “smaller version of adults,” saying their emotional and cognitive control is still developing, which causes them to experience and process stress very differently. Runa’s death was attributed to malnutrition due to an eating disorder.

Loss of appetite is common following traumatic events, she said, adding that it cannot be reversed simply by encouraging the person to eat more.

“It is certainly possible that PTSD could cause functional difficulties in the (gastrointestinal) system, as well as making a difference in the appetite and causing significant amount of weight loss and that would connect to death,” said Uchida, an associate psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School.

Human rights groups have long warned of the undue stress suspects in Japan are subject to during detention, ranging from aggressive questioning tactics to the lack of access to lawyers. Some legal experts said prolonged detention occurs far too often, regardless of the suspect’s age.

In 2024, about 65% of the 85,040 adults detained in Japan spent more than 15 days in police custody, according to government statistics.

“I completely fail to understand how such a practice is allowed to pass, and this broader reality urgently needs reform as well,” said lawyer Uehara.

Yoko hopes her bid to seek justice on her daughter’s behalf could play a role in driving change.

“Winning this lawsuit would mean that, even if Runa is no longer physically here, it will serve as proof that she lived and left a legacy behind to reform this justice system.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, help is available. In the United States, call the National Alliance for Eating Disorders’ helpline for free on 1-866-662-1235. A list of international directories is provided on eatingdisorderhope.com.

在日本警察局拘留所度过的 18 天里，鲁娜写下了她多么渴望回家。

这位少女想念妈妈做的饭菜、妈妈的拥抱，以及她们一起度过的那些平凡而又重要的生活时光——读书、购物和唱歌。

“求求你们了，我想见见我的妈妈，”她在被拘留期间拿到的笔记本上潦草地写道，CNN 看到了这一幕。

Runa被监禁——以及获释数月后去世——如今已成为其母亲起诉兵库县警察厅非法逮捕和拘留的案件的焦点。本周，此案开庭审理，再次引发了人们对日本对待未成年嫌疑人方式的关注。

“我为鲁娜感到无比愧疚，我没能亲自保护她，”鲁娜的母亲洋子哽咽着告诉CNN，她使用了化名以保护隐私。应鲁娜母亲的要求，CNN出于同样的原因没有公布鲁娜的全名。

洋子表示，去年日本警方以涉嫌在她经营的残疾人护理中心实施袭击为由，拘留了这名16岁少年18天。警方拒绝置评或透露投诉细节，CNN也未能独立核实这些指控。

洋子说，她女儿只是想阻止一名情绪激动的居民咬人，于是用手托住了那人的下巴。鲁娜否认了这一指控，也从未被起诉。

在狱中，鲁娜停止进食；获释后，她被诊断出患有创伤后应激障碍。

她的体重持续下降，五个月后去世，体重只有大约 20 公斤——相当于 6 岁女孩的平均体重。

她的单身母亲正在寻求 1.09 亿日元（70 万美元）的赔偿，声称遭到非法逮捕和拘留，并表示这导致了 Runa 的死亡。

“我希望警察和检察官反思他们照顾人民、保护公民的职责，并在法庭上说真话，”她说。

日本有“人质司法”的恶名，这个词指的是在没有提出指控的情况下拘留嫌疑人，拘留时间远远超过其他国家法律允许的时间，通常长达数天甚至数周。

但日本对刑事调查中未成年人的待遇也有严格的规定。根据日本《少年法》，只有在“不可避免的”情况下才能监禁未成年人。

然而，辩护律师和田惠美表示，“不可避免的”一词的含义从未被明确定义，可以由当局进行解释。

根据政府统计数据，2024 年有 6000 多名 20 岁以下的嫌疑人被拘留，其中 4000 人被拘留超过 15 天。

拒绝让鲁娜与母亲见面，并将她拘留两周多的决定令律师们感到困惑，也引发了人们对保护被拘留未成年人的措施是否有效的质疑。

曾任检察官、后转任辩护律师的上原幹夫表示，瑠奈的死“极其悲惨”。他补充说：“我强烈怀疑拘留是否真的有必要。”

当被问及拘留 Runa 的原因时，兵库县警察表示不会“对个案细节发表评论”。

一位发言人表示：“此事目前正处于国家赔偿诉讼的待决阶段，县政府的立场将在法庭上明确表态。”

日本法务省多次驳斥“人质司法”的指控，称其充分考虑了被指控犯错者的权利。

这家人在兵库县经营一家养老院，兵库县位于日本第二大城市大阪的西北部。

鲁娜的母亲说，鲁娜从小在需要特别照顾的人身边长大，她是一个“开朗的女孩”，渴望有一天能接管家里的养老院。

“虽然她的生命很短暂，只有16年，但她每一天都活得充满同情和关爱，”洋子说。

但去年6月17日，也就是据称袭击事件发生四个月后，鲁娜被捕，彻底改变了一切。据洋子回忆，警方在养老院拘留了鲁娜，并在她母亲有机会见到她之前就将她带走了。她母亲听到消息后立即赶回了养老院。

接下来的 18 天里，由于检察官寻求禁令（并经法院批准），Yoko 被禁止探望 Runa，理由是她作为该设施的所有者可能会篡改证据。

通过鲁娜的律师，她开始了解到女儿饮食不规律。但她说，由于当局拒绝了她索要鲁娜膳食记录的请求，她始终未能了解事情的全貌。

她说，获释前一晚，这名少女突然晕倒，被紧急送往医院。

第二天早上，洋子被眼前所见震惊了。

“她瘦得皮包骨头，哭着尖叫着跑了出来，”洋子回忆道。

“她走路非常虚弱，走10米都费劲，连5米都走不了，”她说，并补充说他们不得不把她抬到车上。

据她的律师向井义弘称，除了她潦草的笔记外，关于瑠奈在拘留期间的经历，几乎没有任何细节可查。

“我们见到她时，她焦虑不已，反复问自己将来会怎么样，”穆凯在接受 CNN 采访时谈到她在被拘留期间的会面。

日本设有专门用于临时关押未成年嫌疑人的设施——少年拘留所。但辩护律师和田表示，如果拘留时间少于两周，这些设施很少被启用，导致未成年人面临与成年人类似的待遇。

目前尚不清楚为什么鲁娜在被拘留两周后没有被转移到少年管教所。

和田还提出了鲁娜案件的另一个特殊之处。“我从未见过父母无法见到嫌疑人的案例，”她说。

另一项警方指导方针要求调查人员尽力满足未成年嫌疑人提出的由适当成年人（例如父母）陪同的要求，即使在审讯期间也是如此。但东京明治大学法学教授石田智信表示，这项权利并非绝对。

石田表示：“这些本质上是警方的内部规则或行政指导方针，因此不具有法律约束力。”

“然而，即使假设存在销毁证据的真实风险，考虑到所指控行为的性质相对较轻，以及她当时还是未成年人，我个人很难理解如此相对较长的拘留期如何能被认为是相称的，”石田说。

洋子说，鲁娜去年7月初提前获释后，就开始怀疑成年人，包括来给她治疗的医生和护士。

洋子说，他们尝试给她喂一些能恢复食欲的食物——从冰淇淋到坚果——但“所有东西都直接排出体外了”。露娜对医疗系统的不信任，使救援工作更加复杂，因为她拒绝被送往医院。

精神科医生内田麻衣表示，切勿将青少年误认为是“缩小版的成年人”，因为他们的情绪和认知控制能力仍在发展中，这导致他们体验和处理压力的方式截然不同。瑠奈的死因被归咎于饮食失调导致的营养不良。

她表示，经历创伤性事件后出现食欲不振是很常见的，并补充说，仅仅鼓励患者多吃东西是无法逆转这种情况的。

“创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD) 确实有可能导致（胃肠道）系统功能障碍，并可能影响食欲，导致体重显著下降，而这可能与死亡有关，”哈佛医学院精神病学副教授内田说。

人权组织长期以来一直警告说，日本的嫌疑人在拘留期间承受着不应有的压力，包括咄咄逼人的审讯手段和无法获得律师帮助等问题。一些法律专家表示，无论嫌疑人年龄多大，长期拘留的情况都过于频繁。

根据政府统计数据，2024年，日本被拘留的85040名成年人中，约有65%的人在警方拘留期间被关押超过15天。

“我完全无法理解这种做法怎么能被允许通过，这种更广泛的现实也迫切需要改革，”律师上原说道。

洋子希望她为女儿寻求正义的努力能够推动变革。

“赢得这场诉讼意味着，即使鲁娜已经不在人世，也能证明她曾经活过，并留下了改革司法系统的遗产。”

如果您或您认识的人正在与饮食失调作斗争，请不要担心，您可以寻求帮助。在美国，您可以拨打全国饮食失调联盟 (NAME) 的免费热线 1-866-662-1235。您也可以访问 eatingdisorderhope.com 网站，那里提供国际相关机构的联系方式列表。