EP04 - The Demon Midwife

Summary: Miyuki Ishikawa rose from a rural upbringing to attend one of Tokyo’s most prestigious universities. She went on to achieve career success, eventually reaching the position of Hospital Director for Kotobuki Maternity Hospital. However, in the turmoil of post-WWII Japan many families found themselves unable to financially support the arrival of a new child. Faced with limited resources within her hospital as well, Ishikawa decided the best solution was to neglect infants from families she considered too financially challenged to raise them. The newborns would eventually pass away from neglect. Together with her accomplices Ishikawa would dispose of the infants’ bodies and falsify death certificates to conceal the crime from authorities. She would later begin to charge poor families to ‘take care’ of their newborns, arguing that the it would be cheaper to pay the fee than face the financial burden of trying to raise them. The public outcry that followed the discovery of Ishikawa’s crimes ultimately lead to the legalization of abortion in Japan. Estimated to have been responsible for the murder of at least 103 infants, Ishikawa’s high death toll makes her the most prolific serial killer in Japanese history. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyuki_Ishikawa http://murderpedia.org/female.I/i/ishikawa-miyuki.htm http://unknownmisandry.blogspot.jp/2011/09/miyuki-ishikawa-japanese-childcare.html