**A 60-year-old man switched at birth from his rich parents to a poor family has been given compensation, it’s reported.**
The Tokyo man will be paid 32m yen ($313,265) by social welfare corporation San-Ikukai, which runs the hospital where he was born in March 1953. Hospital staff mistakenly thought he was the son of a couple whose own baby was born 13 minutes later, says the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
The mix-up “caused mental distress by depriving him of an opportunity to gain a higher education although his original family was wealthy”, said Judge Masatoshi Miyasaka. While his biological siblings – and the boy brought up in his place – attended private high schools and universities, the unnamed man grew up in a family reliant on welfare. He graduated from junior high school and now works as a truck driver.
The compensation also covers the fact that he was denied contact with his family for almost six decades. The switch was only uncovered after his biological parents died. Their sons, who realised their oldest brother looked different to the rest of the family, began to investigate hospital records. A DNA test in 2009 confirmed the Tokyo man was indeed a blood relative.
There’s a This American Life episode, “Switched at Birth”, that covers a similar story about two female babies that were switched. It’s incredible to listen to.
(Spoilers ahead)
The most chilling part is that both families knew each other, and when all was revealed, one daughter was wholeheartedly embraced by her biological family, while still cherished by her “adopted” family, whereas the other daughter felt like she couldn’t truly connect with either (aside from her biological brother). It almost seemed like one of the girls now had two loving families in her life while the other had none.
Edit: someone corrected me – I think I remembered it somewhat wrong (as to who was the blonde and popular girl vs. the more serious girl), so I edited the above paragraph to be more accurate. Anyway, I encourage everyone to listen to the ep.
A Tokyo court ruled in his favor, recognizing the emotional and educational losses he faced. He got 38 million yen (about $371k), far less than the 250 million yen he and his biological siblings originally sought
There’s something really off-putting about this. Goes to show it really is just luck of the draw. Birth shouldn’t have such a large impact on the outcome of one’s life.
This just really shows you that the whole idea that people pull themselves up by the bootstraps is largely a myth. Your wealth is mostly determined by the wealth of your parents.
IMO Switching Babies is one of the worst ethicsl crimes. Even if Nobody gets directly hurt but altering life of several people is no joke and absolutly disgusting. The hospital needs to pay big money.
There had been a case in Germany or Austria where a hospial empleyoe discovers that her sister gave birth to a child with several disabilities. She exchange the babies. So one family got stuck wirh an expensive disabled child they have to care for. The father of the other family discoverd that her Daughters eyecolour were diffrent and found out the truth by DNA Test. Truly horrifiying.
P J Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, wanted to raise a child so adopted one. However, the child she adopted was a twin. The brother was left in the foster care system – she didn’t want two kids. (I find this awful. I could never separate siblings, let alone twins).
Many years later, Travers’ wealthy adopted son who was given every privilege growing up met his twin. They spoke so differently – one upper class, highly educated, the other lower class, poorly schooled. The twin who was left to fend for himself looked ten years older. He had nothing, adopted boy had everything. It was very tough to watch.
Is it normal in some countries to separate newborns from their parents? Our kids never left our sight for a moment when they were born, since doctors said the time was crucial for bonding.
My wife was switched at birth… the nurse tried to give a boy to their mother (she was switched back, because the mother remembered 100% that she had a daughter not a son).
I bet this happens more often than you would expect.
Kindof sad no one has mentioned his single mom and the fact she likely loved him and tried her best to provide regardless. Way to not appreciate that bro
Not sure about anywhere else, but in Canada (at least the hospital we were) our babies are never taken from their parents for any length of time without a parent unless there’s something serious so a mix-up like that is impossible
In the Philippines, there was a TV show Mara Clara with plot which is a bit similar. Two baby girls were born at same time at the same hospital and were swapped at birth. The show aired for 5 years from 1992 to 1997.
And so many rich people believe it is their genetics and hard work that makes them rich, when really it is the advantages they had, connections, and financial support from their families.
Feel terrible for the guy, but it does highlight how completely unfair life is in general, even if there hadn’t been a switch one guy was still having a luxury life and one a hard life through nothing but the parent lottery.
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**A 60-year-old man switched at birth from his rich parents to a poor family has been given compensation, it’s reported.**
The Tokyo man will be paid 32m yen ($313,265) by social welfare corporation San-Ikukai, which runs the hospital where he was born in March 1953. Hospital staff mistakenly thought he was the son of a couple whose own baby was born 13 minutes later, says the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
The mix-up “caused mental distress by depriving him of an opportunity to gain a higher education although his original family was wealthy”, said Judge Masatoshi Miyasaka. While his biological siblings – and the boy brought up in his place – attended private high schools and universities, the unnamed man grew up in a family reliant on welfare. He graduated from junior high school and now works as a truck driver.
The compensation also covers the fact that he was denied contact with his family for almost six decades. The switch was only uncovered after his biological parents died. Their sons, who realised their oldest brother looked different to the rest of the family, began to investigate hospital records. A DNA test in 2009 confirmed the Tokyo man was indeed a blood relative.
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-25136472.amp
There’s a This American Life episode, “Switched at Birth”, that covers a similar story about two female babies that were switched. It’s incredible to listen to.
(Spoilers ahead)
The most chilling part is that both families knew each other, and when all was revealed, one daughter was wholeheartedly embraced by her biological family, while still cherished by her “adopted” family, whereas the other daughter felt like she couldn’t truly connect with either (aside from her biological brother). It almost seemed like one of the girls now had two loving families in her life while the other had none.
Edit: someone corrected me – I think I remembered it somewhat wrong (as to who was the blonde and popular girl vs. the more serious girl), so I edited the above paragraph to be more accurate. Anyway, I encourage everyone to listen to the ep.
Sounds like a drama shows plot
Nah but I’d lowkey be mad too
https://preview.redd.it/1coyeppy07df1.png?width=474&format=png&auto=webp&s=184943277d7d5a0ff46b95ee5892e67ddae34238
They made a film about it. Great movie btw.
A Tokyo court ruled in his favor, recognizing the emotional and educational losses he faced. He got 38 million yen (about $371k), far less than the 250 million yen he and his biological siblings originally sought
holy fck, i wouldve been seething T.T
It’s just a prank bro.
The prank:
Luck is seriously a thing, holy shit. If this story is true, hope he wins the lawsuit and a fucking lot of money from it.
There’s something really off-putting about this. Goes to show it really is just luck of the draw. Birth shouldn’t have such a large impact on the outcome of one’s life.
So, This is why you use a marker to mark your baby..
This just really shows you that the whole idea that people pull themselves up by the bootstraps is largely a myth. Your wealth is mostly determined by the wealth of your parents.
I swear there was a movie with this exact same plot. Or were
Plot twist: The mom was single because she had a baby that looked nothing like her husband.
IMO Switching Babies is one of the worst ethicsl crimes. Even if Nobody gets directly hurt but altering life of several people is no joke and absolutly disgusting. The hospital needs to pay big money.
There had been a case in Germany or Austria where a hospial empleyoe discovers that her sister gave birth to a child with several disabilities. She exchange the babies. So one family got stuck wirh an expensive disabled child they have to care for. The father of the other family discoverd that her Daughters eyecolour were diffrent and found out the truth by DNA Test. Truly horrifiying.
Nature v nurture experiment gone wrong.
Plot twist of the movie megamind.
Real life k-drama
P J Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, wanted to raise a child so adopted one. However, the child she adopted was a twin. The brother was left in the foster care system – she didn’t want two kids. (I find this awful. I could never separate siblings, let alone twins).
Many years later, Travers’ wealthy adopted son who was given every privilege growing up met his twin. They spoke so differently – one upper class, highly educated, the other lower class, poorly schooled. The twin who was left to fend for himself looked ten years older. He had nothing, adopted boy had everything. It was very tough to watch.
60 years of suffering in poverty just to realise your life was that way due to some logistical mistake by the hospital.
Also, this shows that nurture is more important that nature.
Is it normal in some countries to separate newborns from their parents? Our kids never left our sight for a moment when they were born, since doctors said the time was crucial for bonding.
Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020)
It’s suuper easy to be rich and nice to everyone. But the other eay around, not so much.
Hence, why the one who grew up poor couldn’t connect with either families.
what a wierd coincidence that the rich family randomly got a smart kid that turned out to be successful 🤔
My wife was switched at birth… the nurse tried to give a boy to their mother (she was switched back, because the mother remembered 100% that she had a daughter not a son).
I bet this happens more often than you would expect.
Kindof sad no one has mentioned his single mom and the fact she likely loved him and tried her best to provide regardless. Way to not appreciate that bro
I would sue them fuck out of them
Not sure about anywhere else, but in Canada (at least the hospital we were) our babies are never taken from their parents for any length of time without a parent unless there’s something serious so a mix-up like that is impossible
Yeah, I have a strong feeling that this has happened to me.
I feel so sorry for the poor man whose life was switched a birth. He was dealt with a cruel fate.
This will be on Netflix in 6 months.
In the Philippines, there was a TV show Mara Clara with plot which is a bit similar. Two baby girls were born at same time at the same hospital and were swapped at birth. The show aired for 5 years from 1992 to 1997.
Megamind lore
And so many rich people believe it is their genetics and hard work that makes them rich, when really it is the advantages they had, connections, and financial support from their families.
Feel terrible for the guy, but it does highlight how completely unfair life is in general, even if there hadn’t been a switch one guy was still having a luxury life and one a hard life through nothing but the parent lottery.
Switched at Birth show if it took a wildly different direction.
How do you find out something like that?!
Fascinating how the error of someone completely altered the life of another.
I can’t imagine the feeling after 60 difficult years.