Hello, this is Frank.

Over a decade ago in the Kansai region of Japan, a tragic case shocked the nation: a 9-year-old girl, severely abused and neglected, died of starvation. Her final words are now etched into the collective memory of those who followed the case:

“Goodnight, I’ll sleep here.”

Denied entry to her home, she lay weak and alone on the balcony. Witnesses said she moved her right hand slowly, murmuring that she was “looking for sunflowers.”

How could something so cruel be allowed to happen?

Her father testified that the girl’s mother, the defendant, had “a face like a demon” under the pressure of poverty and daily life. Indeed, any parent can relate—when stress from work or family life piles up, it’s easy to lose patience, sometimes even lashing out at those we love most.

During my days as a trading company executive flying around the world, I too was guilty of snapping at my kids before overseas business trips. The pressure made me irritable, and they bore the brunt of it more than once.

But still—how does it escalate to the point of death? Was poverty truly the cause? Or is it a darker truth—that in our weakest moments, we direct our pain at those even weaker than ourselves? Is this the nature of being human?

Before my children became adults and left home, I once looked back on those high-stress years and apologized to them. I said, “I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I was too wrapped up in work and stress.”

And one of them said something I’ll never forget:

“A dad who can say sorry to his kids is pretty amazing.”

Even though they forgave me, my heart still aches with regret. I wasn’t the father I wanted to be. I wish I’d been gentler. More present. More human.

This little girl’s last words—“Goodnight, I’ll sleep here”—will haunt me forever. As a parent, just rereading this case tears my heart apart. I can only pray that something like this never happens again.

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Thank you for reading today.

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