"Baby Post" opened 15 years ago "Family" talked by a man who was entrusted June 8 11:55

It has been 15 years since the so-called "baby post", a so-called "baby post" that anonymously keeps children who cannot be raised by parents, was opened in a private hospital in Kumamoto city.

So far, 161 children have been accepted.

A man who was once entrusted to me responded to the interview with his real name.

(Kumamoto Broadcasting Station reporter Ayaki Maruyama)

I was entrusted to the "cradle"

This is Koichi Miyazu (18) from Kumamoto City.

This spring, I graduated from a high school in the prefecture and became a college student on a sunny day.

It is one of the children who were entrusted in the year when the so-called "baby post", which is the "Kototori no Yurikago" that anonymously entrusts children who cannot be raised by parents, started.

When he was three years old, he was taken over by a foster parent in Kumamoto City and was carefully raised.

It was the mayor of Kumamoto at that time who gave the name "Koichi".

The foster parent's father thinks that the wish is put in, "I want you to live as powerfully as a ship that crosses the ocean."

He joined the track and field club in high school and is active as a sprinter.

He has also won the runner-up in the prefectural tournament with a good record in the 100 meters and 11 seconds range.

I attended the college entrance ceremony in a brand new suit bought by his foster parents.

Koichi Miyazu

"When I became a college student, I realized that I was wearing a suit today. I asked my father to check if he was wearing a tie properly."

Lucky encounter with a parent

Foster parents Yoshimitsu Miyazu and Midori are married couples.

The couple originally had five sons.

When my child-rearing was over, I registered because I wanted to become a foster parent and support many children.

At that time, Koichi was transferred to a child guidance center, and the person in charge said, "Why don't you take care of a child about 3 years old?"

Midori-san, what was your impression when you first saw Koichi-san?

Midori Miyazu

"I smiled with a bright child, ate ice cream together and took a picture, but I thought it was cute."

It was only after it was officially decided to accept Koichi that he learned that he was a child entrusted to a "cradle."

Mr. Yoshimitsu Miyazu

"At first, Koichi was not informed that he was a child of the stork's cradle, and he said he would accept it. After it was officially decided, I was surprised and anxious. "

It is said that Mr. Yoshimitsu and Mr. Midori tried to treat Mr. Koichi with a deep affection that surpassed the sad past.

I went fishing with my family, had a barbecue in my garden, and made various memories.

Koichi, who grew up with a lot of love, naturally came to call them "dad" and "mother".

Being loved by the older brothers of the Miyazu family, as the time spent under one roof increased, a strong family bond was born, and Koichi felt that he was "my place". It became.

Who am I?

Koichi sometimes had doubts about his "origin".

When he was deposited in the "cradle", there was nothing to identify him.

I didn't know his name, of course, his birthday, age, or where he came from, just a bag of children's T-shirts.

Koichi faintly remembered the time when he was entrusted.

He says he said, "I've been here," when the news of the "cradle" was featured in newspapers and television.

Mr. Yoshimitsu and Mr. Midori tried to tell the story of their upbringing without hiding it, so it is said that Koichi was able to firmly understand that the cradle and the two were not their real parents from a young age.

Yoshimitsu Miyazu

"I had to open it after all. I didn't know the origin, so if there was news about the cradle in the newspaper, I told Koichi that I would be here."

However, Koichi had mixed feelings about not knowing his "origin".

When he was in elementary school, he had a class to look back on his background.

He realized again that he didn't know what his birth mother was or where he was born.

For the class, I brought a picture of the Miyazu family's eldest brother when he was a baby.

Koichi Miyazu

"I didn't have a picture of myself when I was a baby. I was different from the people around me, so I had mixed feelings and feelings of being uncomfortable about not knowing the origin."

The origin that turned out, the real mother is already ...

After that, I knew my origin.

Her real mother died in a car accident when Koichi was five months old.

However, he said that he was more than happy to know her origin than the sadness of not seeing his real mother.

Koichi and his father, Yoshimitsu, visited the hometown of their real mother in eastern Japan and visited the grave.

Then, in front of the grave, I read aloud a letter about my happiness and my feelings for her mother.

The picture of my mother when I was young, which my mother's colleague gave me, and the black stones I brought back from the grave instead of bones are still displayed in a place that I always cherish.

A mother with a gentle smile on the photo.

Her hair had the same waves as herself, and she looked exactly like her.

Koichi Miyazu

"I thought she was a very kind mother. I don't know when she was born, but I'm grateful that she was born here."

"The life after being entrusted is more important"

Last year, when he was in the third year of high school, Koichi set up a children's cafeteria with his parents in order to create a place for children to be isolated due to the influence of the new Corona.

In the future, I would like to get a job related to children.

As a party, Koichi wanted to convey the life of the person entrusted to the cradle.

Koichi Miyazu

"Children need to grow up with family love, and if they do, I think they can overcome the problem of their origin, although they may be worried. Finally, evaluate the cradle. I think it's the parties who do it. It's not the process of being entrusted, but the life after that. "

161 entrusted children

The "Kototori no Yurikago", the so-called "baby post," was opened 15 years ago at the Jikei Hospital in Nishi-ku, Kumamoto City.

To prevent unexpectedly pregnant women from abandoning or killing their babies, up to 161 children have been entrusted to date.

While there are lives saved, there are also deep-rooted criticisms such as "leading to easy abandonment of childcare."

The Kumamoto City Special Committee, which examines the "cradle," has compiled a report on the background of 155 of the entrusted children and the subsequent care situation.

According to that, 124 people, which is 80%, were found to have their origins like Koichi.

On the other hand, information may not be available for 31 people in the future.

According to Jikei Hospital, some mothers said, "If we didn't have a cradle that we could leave anonymously, we might have died with our baby." First of all, it is necessary to respect anonymity.

Jikei Hospital accepts consultations 24 hours a day, with thousands of consultations annually.

“Baby Post Challenges”

The most common reasons for leaving a child in a "Kototori no Yurikago", the so-called "baby post," are unmarried, infidelity, and opposition from parents.

Some people, like Koichi, are entrusted with changes in the family environment after their mother's death.

While many lives have been saved, many are clear due to privacy issues, such as what kind of family environment the children have been growing up in and how they are facing the past in the cradle. It has not become.

Some of the entrusted children have reached puberty.

I would like to cover and convey the children's future lives.

Kumamoto Broadcasting Station Reporter

Ayaki Maruyama

Joined in 2018

After working in charge of police and judiciary, in charge of prefectural government from September 2008

Continued coverage of confidential births and school bullying issues