Forcing Child to play GTA IV, Man gets arrested in Japan

A 28 year old man has been arrested by the Kyoro Police department for allegedly forcing a small school child to play Grand Theft Auto IV, although he didn’t wish to do so.

According to a report in MSN Japan and Yomiuri Online, the man serves as a male nurse in the city and is named Maasa Kawabata. He apparently made his wife’s nine-year old son (from another father) play GTA IV against his wish. According to the police report, the suspect forced the child to play the game for a stretch of two-three weeks, whenever his mother was out. The gaming sessions lasted for around 2-3 hours at once.

“I did not force him to play the game,” Kawabata is quoted as saying in the report filed against him. He married the lady in October 2012, moving in with her and her child in late November. According to several newspaper reports, Kawabata is accused of calling the boy names like ‘stupid’ and ‘moron’ and even asked him to kill himself on a number of times. All of this occurred when his mother would be out of home.

Apparently, the boy complained of having painful headaches and stomach pain and a feeling of nausea last April. This made the mother concerned, forcing her to cease living in with her husband. In May, a doctor diagonosed the child with dysautonomia , which is he claimed was bought by his exposure to playing GTA IV and the stress caused as a result. In June, she finally reported her husband to the cops. However, no arrest was made until earlier today, when the cops finally caved in under pressure to bring him in.

It’s important to note that the news reports make no mention of the mental harrasment the father caused his child by calling him names, but make it a point to mention that the violent nature of the videogame was the prime reason for the child’s illness. Make what you will of that.