We Must Take Greater Care to Protect Children／小さな命を奪った怠慢管理

　It was around lunchtime when I entered a noodle shop in town. A young boy in elementary school, his hair cropped close and wearing a tiny apron, came around to take my order: "What would you like?" The little waiter, on summer vacation, was probably helping out at the shop.

　The prolonged tsuyu (rainy season) has come to an end here in Tokyo and we now have some summerlike weather. Helping out at the family shop might be an unusual option, but this is the time when children get busy traveling and going out to play, doing things fit for the summer holidays. Such various scenes of frolicking children in my mind were suddenly blown away when I heard of a disaster at a public swimming pool in Fujimino, Saitama Prefecture, on July 31.

　Seven-year-old Erika Tomaru, a second-grader at an elementary school, died after getting sucked inside a water intake drain at a winding pool with a river-like water course. It was a harrowing accident. The young girl was dragged into the duct - with an opening measuring 60 centimeters in diameter - which turned into a deadly abyss. There had been two protective grates in place to prevent accidents. A child noticed that one of the barriers had fallen off and alerted a lifeguard. The accident reportedly took place just as guards were getting ready to make repairs.

　It is suspected that priority was given to keeping the grate affixed, while safety management was neglected. And a question remains why the suction pump wasn't switched off, as soon as it was discovered that the barrier had become dislodged. Maybe an adult could have fought the gushing stream and resisted getting pulled in, but it would have been difficult for a little child.

　Once there was an accident involving a 3-year-old boy at an amusement park. When he started riding on a carousel pony, his face soon became stricken. The tot stood up from his seat to reach out for his mother, who was sitting at a nearby bench. The boy tumbled down and got caught in the machinery. He suffered a serious injury.

　For an adult, a carriage moving along at 5 kph is almost like walking. But for a toddler, it must have been a terrifying experience, said a police investigator at the time. Unless we put ourselves in the position of little children and take in their pint-size point of view, unexpected dangers will befall our youngsters.

　昼時、街のそば屋に入った。小さなエプロンをかけたイガグリ頭の小学生が来る。「ご注文は？」。夏休みで、店の手伝いをしているらしい。

　▼長かった梅雨が東京でもあけて、いくらか夏らしくなった。店の手伝いは例外かも知れないが、遊びに旅行にと、子どもたちが夏休みらしいことにいそしむ頃合いだ。そう思っていたら、埼玉県ふじみ野市の市営プールで悲惨な事故が起きた。

　▼小学２年生で７歳の戸丸瑛梨香さんが、流水プールの吸水口に吸い込まれて亡くなった。入り口の直径が60センチの管が奈落になるとは、痛ましいかぎりだ。事故防止のために取り付けてあった２枚の柵（さく）のうち１枚が外れた。気づいた子どもが監視員に知らせ、補修しようとしている間に事故が起きたという。

　▼柵が外れないようにするのが第一で、管理を怠った疑いがある。そして、柵が外れたと分かった時になぜ、水を吸い込むポンプを止めなかったのだろうか。大人なら吸い込む力に逆らえるかも知れないが、小さくて力も弱い子どもには難しいだろう。

　▼ある遊園地で以前、こんな事故があった。３歳の男の子がひとりで回転馬車に乗っていた。そのうちに顔がひきつって座席から立ち上がり、近くのベンチに居た母親の方に身を乗り出した。そして転落し、機械に挟まれて大けがをした。

　▼時速５キロで動く馬車は、大人にとっては歩くようなものだった。しかし、幼児には恐怖だったのだろうと、当時の捜査員が言っていた。小さい子の立場や視線も含めてものを考えないと、思わぬ危険が子どもを襲う。(８月２日付)