The apartment where Orito Niimura reportedly had boiling water poured on him is seen from the exterior, in this image taken in the city of Settsu, Osaka Prefecture, in September 2021. (Mainichi/Yusuke Kori)

       OSAKA -- Despite SOS signals, suspicions that he was being abused and local government monitoring, 3-year-old Orito Niimura died in August, with his mother's partner arrested Sept. 22 by Osaka Prefectural Police on suspicion of murder.

       Takumi Matsubara, 23 and unemployed, was arrested on suspicion of murdering his partner's son Orito by pouring boiling water on him at the apartment in the Osaka Prefecture city of Settsu they lived in.

       Though people around him suspected he was being abused, and sought for him to be taken into temporary care, they could not avert the tragedy that unfolded. An acquaintance of Orito's mother said with regret, "Orito didn't do anything wrong. The adults couldn't save his young life."

       People familiar with the situation and others said they often heard Orito haltingly saying to the arrested suspect Matsubara: "Takkun, no. Takkun, no." Takkun was Orito's nickname for Matsubara. The young boy had reportedly displayed behavior indicating he was refusing to go home, too.

       Orito's mother divorced her husband in October 2018, and moved with her son from another municipal authority in Osaka Prefecture to Settsu. She began a relationship with Matsubara around autumn 2020, and it is thought that they began co-habiting about three months before the incident in August.

       Friends and others who came to the apartment socially reported witnessing Matsubara shouting and throwing objects at Orito. It was also confirmed that the 3-year-old had strange injuries on his face. In June 2021, acquaintances thought there was a possibility Orito was being abused, and sought for the Settsu Municipal Government's child and family consultation department to take him into temporary custody.

       According to the city government, the mother and son had been deemed in need of continuous monitoring by government services, and support officials in charge of the matter had face-to-face meetings with her once or twice a month.

       At the beginning of May, she reportedly said her partner had laid a hand on her son. Matsubara then apparently promised the city government he would not do it again. A city official said: "We didn't think there was an urgent danger. There was no problem with our response."

       Orito was a sweet young boy and popular in the neighborhood. In April, his mother wrote on her Instagram account: "I'm so glad he loved his present." Along with it was a photo of Orito on his third birthday, with his hands spread in front a cake and a smile across his face.

       One person who knew him said, "All I feel is regret that we couldn't save such an adorable boy like him."

       (Japanese original by Ryoko Kijima, Osaka City News Department, and Kohei Shimizu, Osaka Bureau)

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